Carlos Sainz Reflects on Shocking Q2 Exit at Dutch Grand Prix: ‘I Paid the Price

Carlos Sainz discusses the reasons behind his surprising exit in the second round of qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz admitted that his limited experience on soft tires led to an unexpected exit in the second qualifying round of the Dutch F1 Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes were the notable eliminations in the second qualifying session, as they only managed to secure the 11th and 12th positions respectively.

Sainz attributed his premature departure to both traffic issues and the lack of effective laps on the soft tires.

“I remained optimistic because I usually adapt quickly. I believed I could reach Q3 today even though I hadn’t driven for three weeks. We didn’t have any dry practice sessions yesterday at Zandvoort, and we hadn’t used the soft tires,” Sainz remarked.

"Balancing the car was difficult, and the wind conditions were challenging. This isn't our fastest track, and to top it off, I encountered some traffic in the second sector with Nico Hulkenberg, which likely prevented me from reaching Q3. I might have been too hopeful in thinking we could achieve it."

A gearbox issue cut Sainz's time short in FP2, preventing him from logging any laps on the soft tires during the sole dry practice session at Zandvoort. FP1 and FP3 were both affected by rain.

Consequently, Sainz's initial encounter with Pirelli's quickest tire occurred in qualifying, and he faced difficulties maintaining speed the entire time.

He explained that in the second qualifying session, he didn't have the experience from the previous day to know how to adjust the front wing and manage the tires to prepare the car for a new set of soft tires. As a result, he faced the consequences.

"As I mentioned, it's challenging to dive into Qualifying on soft tires at Zandvoort without having completed any laps in the practice sessions FP1, FP2, and FP3."

"I felt I put in some solid laps considering the situation, but towards the end, dealing with some traffic made it quite challenging."

Charles Leclerc, who is Leclerc's teammate, managed to secure a sixth-place qualification but was more than nine-tenths of a second behind the leaders. He acknowledged that Ferrari's lag behind the top competitors was "too significant."

Sainz admitted that Ferrari's lackluster performance at Zandvoort is troubling, but he anticipates improved results in the forthcoming races.

He mentioned that in the most recent races, they've been lagging behind McLaren and Red Bull by two to four-tenths of a second, depending on the track, when they actually anticipated a gap of four or five-tenths.

"Being nine-tenths behind is far beyond our expectations, highlighting a significant weakness in handling long, complex corners like those at Zandvoort."

"I believe we will perform better in Monza and Singapore, but our current situation highlights the significant progress needed to eventually surpass McLaren in qualifying."

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