Carlos Sainz has explained how his steering inputs ensured that his spin during Q2 didn’t spell a premature end to his qualifying for Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix.
Sainz’s participation in the session was put at risk when he lost his Ferrari car on the exit of the last corner and pitched across the track towards the opposite barrier.
Although his car remained stationed for a period and the segment was red flagged, Sainz managed to detour to the pits and have a new front wing fitted to his SF-24.
The Spaniard would return to the track in the closing minutes and posted a time good enough to advance to Q3, winding up seventh on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
But with team-mate Charles Leclerc one position ahead and both six-tenths down on polesitter Max Verstappen, Sainz concedes Ferrari lacked the pace in Shanghai.
“Yeah, obviously not ideal to crash in Q2 but still managed to crash just in the right angle in the last moment,” he detailed.
“I turned the wheel a bit to make sure that the crash was in the best possible angle and managed to hit the right angle there to not damage the rear suspension and the rear wing.
“From there I recovered well. I had decent confidence in the car and I could keep pushing flat out. Unfortunately, it still throws you a bit of rhythm and it’s not an ideal quality.
“But I managed to put together some strong laps. It just seems like this weekend we’re not very strong as a team and it’s not a very good track for us.
“But I think the race is tomorrow and we can still recover.”
Ferrari ended up behind Lando Norris’ McLaren on the grid at Suzuka a fortnight ago but both Sainz and Leclerc adopted alternative strategies to manoeuvre ahead.
Sainz is optimistic that the improved pace of Ferrari’s SF-24 car in race trim compared to one-lap speed should stand it in good stead to chase another podium result.
“We’re going to try our best,” he added. “I think McLaren is definitely the target. Tomorrow with Fernando [Alonso], I think they are definitely a step faster than us in quali.
“Simple as that. They were both both cars quicker than the Ferraris in quali, but in over the race things change normally. So we will try and get them back in the race.”
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