Carlos Sainz indicated he would prefer rain to continue into Saturday’s Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix after taking third place on the grid with what he felt was a “pole-worthy” lap.
The Spaniard was on top form in Sin City throughout the whole session, and made up for team-mate Alex Albon’s crash-affected Q1 exit by securing an impressive grid slot behind pole-sitter Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
Sainz snatched provisional pole with seconds to spare in Q3, but as Verstappen and Norris found more grip in the dying seconds, he was forced to settle for third.
It was another example of Sainz’s ability to perform at an indelibly high level when, in true Las Vegas style, the stakes are high.
And after qualifying, Sainz admitted he thought that he might have done enough for pole as he explained how strong the FW47 was on the extreme Wet tyres.
“Yeah, it was a very good lap,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “I thought it was a pole-worthy lap, like when I closed the lap, I saw myself in P1, and then I realised I was the first car across the flag, and yeah, maybe that was not going to last very long with these two guys coming behind.
“But it felt a really good quali. If anything, I think we were more competitive on the ex[treme] Wet in Q1 and Q2, and yeah, I wish we would have stayed ex Wet, because that’s the tyre that gave me the best feeling and the best confidence, as every time we were hitting the board, we were P1.
“But yeah, on [the] Inter, I was expecting to go slower, given our FP3 performance on Inter wasn’t great, and in the end, it turned out to be just fine, but yeah, in the end, it couldn’t be.”
Sainz promises to make himself ‘as wide as possible’ to hold onto podium place
One of Williams’ biggest failings of 2025 has been its inability to extract the genuine pace of the FW47 in qualifying, compromising itself for the race when it could have competed for bigger points.
Sainz was able to prove this in Baku, when he secured third place in the race after a sparkling qualifying performance, and when asked if he had had a good feeling from the car since FP1, he confirmed this was the case.
“Yeah, I’ve had a good feeling,” he revealed. “It’s just been very disrupted and we’ve never been able to show ourselves or show our pace in the top of the timings.
“Obviously, in the dry, I don’t think we would have been more than a P6, P5, P7, P8 in that range.
“The wet allowed us today to shine a bit more and to lead through stages of Q1, Q2 and Q3.
“I don’t think in the dry that would have been possible and I don’t expect if the race is dry tomorrow to be able to hold on to P3, but I think in the wet, we were definitely quick.”
Sainz is wary of the threat posed by both George Russell and Oscar Piastri, who sit behind him in fourth and fifth places respectively, meaning he is acutely aware of how difficult it will be to hold on to third place.
He also believes that Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc lining up ninth, could be a problem too, but promised to make it as hard as he can for his competitors and will not give up his podium chances without a fight.
“Well, I think it will be more than down to the pace rather than the risk I think that anyone can afford,” he said. “I’m also starting there up front and it’s a pretty good result if we can bring it home.
“So, I think we’re all more or less in, in similar positions. It’s more for me, it’s more about trying to hold on to that P3 if I can, given that there will be very fast cars coming behind with the Mercs.
“Another McLaren, Ferraris that were strong on the dry. So yeah I’m gonna give it my best shot. I mean you saw me in Baku or in Austin, when I’m up there fighting for the podium I try not to make mistakes and see if I can make myself as wide as possible and see if we can bring home a stronger than expected result.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris claims pole position in rain-hit qualifying for F1 Las Vegas GP
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