Carlos Sainz said pole position at the US Grand Prix was a “long time coming” after several near misses.
The Spaniard led a Ferrari one-two in qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, pipping teammate Charles Leclerc by just 0.065s in a tight Q3 session.
Though it was Sainz’s third career pole, it was his first in the dry after finishing fastest in the wet at Silverstone earlier in the year and inheriting pole at Spa.
It’s his third pole of the year! ?
Join @Carlossainz55 as he secures @pirellisport Pole Position around the Circuit of the Americas#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/B9WMnPNy8w
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 23, 2022
But after missing out on P1 four times in qualifying by less than a tenth already in 2022, he was pleased for the stopwatch to finally finish in his favour.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “It was very tricky out there with these winds; it’s so gusty that every corner is a bit of an adventure with these cars.
“You don’t know how much grip you are going to get or how much grip to expect.
“But I managed to put together a good lap without mistakes and [score a] pole position that was a long time coming after a few qualis in the dry getting very close to it, but not getting there.”
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Sainz will have former Toro Rosso teammate Max Verstappen alongside him on the front row as a 10-place penalty for new power unit parts demotes Leclerc to 12th.
And with tyres set to play a key part in the race, Carlos admits beating the two-time world champion will be a challenge.
“I’m not going to lie, for tomorrow Red Bull is still favourite,” he stated. “They normally get us in the race because Max does a good job and Red Bull has a very good car in race trim.
“But we are going to do everything we can to try and stay ahead tomorrow and win the race.”
Our first pole position @COTA ?
Vamos ?️? @carlossainz55 #essereFerrari? #USGP pic.twitter.com/GERRaI2jY8
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) October 23, 2022
As for Leclerc, he was frustrated to miss out on pole.
“It is really difficult, especially with the wind and the last lap wasn’t the best,” he admitted. “Carlos did a better job today and deserves to be on pole.”
Looking ahead to the race, he added: “I’ll be starting a bit further back because of the penalty but the goal is to try and come back at the front as quickly as possible.
“I will give my best as always. No crazy risks, but if there is an opportunity I will be there to take it.”
