Carlos Sainz saw his chances of a first pole position in his home Spanish Grand Prix disappear on Saturday as Ferrari’s struggle for pace left both him and team mate Charles Leclerc on the third row. Ferrari is the only team to have both drivers win races this year, and the team had been talking up the chances of getting back on the top step following its double retirement in Canada two weeks ago thanks to car upgrades.
Sainz had been second quickest in Friday practice and fastest in the final session before qualifying.
“I thought after practice that we would be in the fight for pole but very quickly in Q2 when everyone turned on the big Mode 14’s and stuff, it was clear we were lacking two tenths,” said Spaniard Sainz, the winner in Australia in March.
“Two tenths around here is a lot of time, I did two decent laps, Charles put in two very good ones as well. I don’t think we could have done much more today.” Leclerc, who won at his home race in Monaco, was equally disappointed. “We were further from pole than what we expected,” he said.
“On the other hand, my team and I did a good job to change the set-up of the car completely from yesterday to today, which helped me find the right feeling again. But together with this, the pace just was not there.” Team boss Fred Vasseur said a podium remained a possibility.
