Sainz: ‘Going for pole cost me more than I would have gained’

Carlos Sainz believes his attempt to go for pole ended up costing him for than he would have gained as he finished P3 in Saturday’s wet qualifying session.

With Max Verstappen already across the line, Sainz knew that if he could best the Dutchman’s time then he would start on pole for Sunday’s race.

However, in his attempt to push and regain the two tenths of speed advantage Verstappen had over him, Sainz exited the final corner poorly and lost time as he regained control of the car.

Not only did the Ferrari driver miss out on the first pole position of his career, he was also pipped to P2 by his compatriot Fernando Alonso.

Speaking after the disappointment, Sainz said he believed his gamble to go after Verstappen ended up proving more costly than what he had hoped to gain.

“I tried to get back that last tenth or two that Max had an advantage on us during the whole day really,” he said afterwards. “[I] wanted to get it but in the end it cost me probably more than what I was going for but it’s how it is.

That’s a wrap from #Quali in Montreal P3 for @CarlosSainz55 for tomorrow’s #CanadianGP#essereFerrari pic.twitter.com/xniiT7RJ0L

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) June 18, 2022

“Very good sector one then in sector two I started to feel the lap going away from me, and into sector three I decided to push really hard the last corner to see if we could get pole, it ended up costing me more than half a second.”

With Charles Leclerc starting from the back of the grid due to a new power unit, Ferrari’s chances of disrupting a sixth consecutive Red Bull win fall on Sainz and he said he was hopeful he could put pressure on Verstappen from the start.

“[It is] important we can get behind Max as soon as possible. From there, try