During the typical interviews on Thursday, Carlos Sainz he declared: “A wait for us maintenance interesting week” and this is the general impression we got after the Free Practice. There first Sprint qualification of the year constitutes a big question mark, especially in light of the first session of Chinese GP weekend in which Sainz finished in 14th position.
Sainz finishes fifth in the Sprint qualifying of the Chinese GP
At the beginning of the Sprint qualification of the Chinese GP, the pilot of the Ferrari, Sainz, is in 14th position a few minutes from the end of the SQ1. However, the fans can pull a sigh of relief when, a few moments later, he places car number #55 in third place. An excellent Sainz in SQ2 closed the lap in third position, behind the two McLarens.
Despite the difficulties encountered with the arrival of the rain, the Spanish driver managed to keep the car on the track. Sainz start from the fifth box of the grid in the Sprint which will start at 05:00 Italian time.
“We struggled a lot with warming up the rear tires”
After qualification Sprint of the Chinese GP, Carlos Sainz made some statements to the press. “It was a mixed session, we did well in SQ1 and SQ2, but then the rain came and we couldn't get the tires in temperature".
The Spanish driver continued by saying: “I struggled specially with the rear, the tire picked up a lot of temperature and then we were no longer able to put it back in the right window”. Ferrari #55 failed to set the best time in SQ3. “We got to 3 seconds from pole and we are fifth, that means you either get the tires on or you don't".
Sainz concluded the interview by saying: “We struggled a lot with the warm-up, so if tomorrow is wet we will have to find a solution. If it were dry instead we will be fighting".
