‘I was a victim of a mistake’ – mixed feelings at Ferrari after sprint qualifying

It was a day of contrasting emotions for the Ferrari drivers on Saturday at the British Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc – who put in a superb performance on Friday to qualify fourth – was excellent, maintaining his position during sprint qualifying, meaning he will start Sunday’s race from the second row.

He had a rather quiet race, not being able to match the pace of the Mercedes cars and Max Verstappen ahead, but opening up enough of a gap to those behind, being aided by Fernando Alonso holding up the rest of the pack and Sergio Perez’s high-speed spin at Chapel.

Crucially, the Monegasque driver is ahead of both McLarens – Ferrari’s direct rival for third-place in this season’s constructors’ championship.

“It was quite busy at the beginning [of sprint qualifying],” said Leclerc after the session.

“But then it was actually quite lonely for me, but lonely in a positive way. We managed to stay very close to Bottas in front, more or less the same pace, which is something that surprised us a little bit.

“So it’s looking good for tomorrow.”

On the other side of the garage, Carlos Sainz struggled; The Spanish driver was only good enough for ninth in qualifying and had a tough sprint qualifying the following day.

Sainz tangled with George Russell on the first lap after the Brit locked up at Brooklands, sending the Ferrari across the grass and tumbling down the running order – eventually managing to recover back to 11th.

There was disappointment for Sainz after the session, but he thinks that his car showed good performance, despite not finishing where he would have hoped.

“I guess I was a victim of a mistake there by George,” said Sainz.

“I got bumped off and it cost me going back to last on lap one, then obviously I had fun after that because I could make my way through the field with strong pace and finish 11th to minimise the damage.

“It’s not where I wanted to finish today.”

Sainz will start Sunday’s race from 11th, while Leclerc will have an eye on another Silverstone podium lining up in fourth.

 

Image credits: formula1.com