In the rainy qualifying session for the British GP, the Spaniard finally got ahead of his all-time rival from Holland and can step out of his shadow. That also commands respect from Red Bull team boss Christian Horner: “Congratulations to Carlos. He’s always been a demon in the wet. Even when he was a junior driver with us, he was always very strong in these conditions,” recalls Horner.
Picture from the past few days: Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz
Red Bull Motorsport Director Helmut Marko, who has always been in charge of the team’s driver decisions, reveals in an interview in 2021: “Sainz was just unlucky to meet Verstappen at the crucial moment.” For the Austrian it was “right away to see that he was super fast. He was almost at the same level as Verstappen. Almost. But when we had the choice between Verstappen and Sainz, it was clear.”
In the transition year before the rule changes, Sainz initially needs patience at the Scuderia, but his debut in Maranello is going well: As fifth in the World Cup, he surprisingly leaves behind Charles Leclerc, who is already established in the team. With the resurrection of Ferrari as a top team, Sainz will have a winning car under him for the first time in 2022.
Familiar picture: Verstappen was mostly ticking ahead of Sainz
But the races are won by others, first and foremost team-mate Leclerc: The Monegasque wins two of the first three races of the season, while Sainz is less able to cope with the pressure and makes too many mistakes in the early stages of the year. Although the Spaniard’s World Cup train seems to have left early, Ferrari extended his contract early at the end of April. Since then, the form curve of the 27-year-old has been on the up again.
Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto is also happy about this: “The pole today was well-deserved. Carlos feels more and more comfortable with our car and recently had a good weekend in Canada,” commented the Italian on Saturday. Binotto knows: “When you feel more comfortable, you also become calmer. You could see that today. Despite difficult conditions, he remained calm and was therefore there at the right time.”
Sainz confirms his new approach: “With so much water, it’s always difficult to keep the car on the track. In some places you have to hold back and give yourself some leeway,” says the Spaniard and adds: “It has That’s why it sometimes didn’t feel so fast today, but that’s exactly what paid off.”
Finally one step ahead: Sainz celebrates his first pole in F1
If it’s up to the Ferrari star, that’s already happened: “Monaco, Baku and Canada were three weekends that were a step better than Barcelona, for example,” says Sainz. But he also admits: “Before Silverstone, that was my biggest doubt because the track here is very similar to Barcelona. But I was still able to convert that feeling into good pace today.” If Sainz can do that again on Sunday, he might be able to catch up with Verstappen in the next stats…
