Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz outlines new ‘main focus’ in honest Qatar GP admission

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Carlos Sainz has made an honest admission about the Ferrari driver’s new ‘main focus’ for the Qatar Grand Prix after only managing P12 in a ‘very difficult’ qualifying session.

The 29-year-old faces a hard fight through the order in Sunday’s Grand Prix after fighting to stay in control. Sainz struggled to match the early promise that Ferrari displayed at the Lusail International Circuit in practice. He had the second fastest time in the only warm-up session.

But the cooler track temperatures and the increased wind, particularly between the double-right-handers of Turn 4 and 5, hurt Ferrari. The Scuderia did not cope as well as some of the other teams with the conditions. Sainz bowed out in Q2 while Charles Leclerc finished in P5.

Carlos Sainz admits the Qatar GP is ‘definitely’ going to be ‘tricky’

Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas set the slowest Q2 time of the drivers to reach Q3 at Lusail with a 1:25.297. Sainz, meanwhile, could only manage a 1:25.328 to bow out in P12, behind Yuki Tsunoda. The AlphaTauri driver exited Q2 in P11 with a 1:25.301 to start on the racing line.

In part given the excessive levels of sand on the newly resurfaced track, Sainz admits he will ‘definitely’ now face a ‘tricky’ Qatar GP on Sunday after the Ferrari driver’s tough qualifying result. So, his focus has now shifted to Saturday and delivering improvements for the Sprint.

“I had a very difficult quali, right from the beginning,” he told the official Formula 1 website. “[I was] just struggling with the balance. The rear was very, very loose. While in FP1, I managed to switch on the tyres and get decent grip on this new surface.

“When the track [temperatures] dropped this afternoon, I just couldn’t find any grip out there. So, I just struggled quite heavily, so I’m not surprised to be out in Q2. Hopefully, we can turn it around for tomorrow, the Sprint, and have a better Saturday.

“But, definitely, Sunday’s going to be tricky, starting from so far back in a difficult track to overtake. But my main focus now is to try and see what we can do better [on Saturday].”

Charles Leclerc expected Ferrari to face a ‘very difficult’ weekend

Even before arriving at Lusail, Leclerc expected Ferrari would face a ‘very difficult’ weekend at the Qatar GP. The Sprint weekend concerned the 25-year-old as Ferrari have struggled to understand how their car reacts in hot conditions and would have fewer practice sessions.

Another problem that arose, however, was the wind with Leclerc particularly struggling with the changeable direction through Turns 4 and 5. Now, Sainz must hope Ferrari drew enough data from Friday’s sessions. It may prove key to him enjoying a better Saturday in the Sprint.

Friday further marked Sainz’s worst qualifying result of the year so far with the Ferrari driver set to start the Qatar GP in P12. The Spaniard’s previous worst qualifying result was P11 for the Hungarian GP in July. He could only move up to P8 behind teammate Leclerc in the race.

Sainz has fared well in Sprint Shootout sessions this season, though, to offer encouragement for Saturday’s Qatar GP Sprint Shootout. He took P3 on the grid at the Belgian GP and P5 at the Azerbaijan GP and Austrian GP. Sainz finished P4 at Spa, P5 in Baku and P3 in Spielberg.