Formula 1

Sainz frustated by another near pole miss but Ferrari 'in a good position'

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Carlos Sainz was frustrated by another near-miss for pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday.

The Spaniard will line up third on the grid at Suzuka but finished just 0.057s behind polesitter Max Verstappen in the closest qualifying session of the season so far.

And with only one pole to his name so far in 2022, coming at Silverstone, Sainz admits he wishes the fine margins would tilt a little more often in his favour.

"It was a very good lap, very clean until the last corner where I picked up quite a bit of wheel spin," he explained. "Probably used a bit too much of my rear tyres early on that lap.

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"It's a shame to be half a tenth again away from pole. So many qualifying's that we've been so close within half a tenth with Max and Charles [Leclerc]. Hopefully, this half-a-tenth falls more to my side and I get a pole position."

As for the race, Sainz is hoping rain can mix things up, but also thinks Ferrari can challenge Verstappen for victory in the dry.

"Tomorrow the weather is going to play its part," he claimed. "It's going to arrive.. but we don't know if it's going to arrive during or after the race.

"There is plenty of things that can happen tomorrow starting from P3. We managed to save a set of softs in case we need it. We are in a good position to fight Max tomorrow."

As for teammate Charles, he will join Verstappen on the front after falling just 0.01s shy of the Red Bull driver's pole time in qualifying. 

"It's a really tricky lap around here," the Monegasque explained.

"Whenever you are fast in the first sector you lose out in the last sector. I tried to find that balance in the last lap but lost the tyres in the last sector and with that time. It's so close to everyone."

As for his expectations for Sunday, Leclerc admits the lack of any dry running on Friday means everyone is stepping largely into the unknown.

"Very limited amount of data going into the race so that is always a challenge," he said, "the feeling is good with the car but let's wait for the conditions. It should be a fun and good race."

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