Breaking news
Formula 1 Bahrain GP
Sainz thought qualifying "was over" after Q1 glitch
Ferrari Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz thought his Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying session "was over" after a glitch in Q1.
Filip Cleeren
Edited: Mar 27, 2021, 6:47 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Italian squad enjoyed a more competitive start to the season than last year with both Sainz and Charles Leclerc advancing to Q3 in Bahrain, but only after the former suffered a "stressful" engine shut-off in Q1.
After narrowly claiming a place in Q2, Sainz slowed down on his out-lap with an 'engine stop' message on his dashboard before his car briefly switched off. Sainz managed to crawl back to the pits, but feared his qualifying session was over.
"I'm happy to be here [in Q3], mainly because I thought that after that situation there the whole car switched off and I thought that was qualifying over for me," Sainz said.
"It was stressful to say the least in that first Q1, with the team and what happened there. I think we reacted well, we pulled ourselves together after that shock."
Read Also:
- Bahrain GP: Verstappen storms to pole ahead of Hamilton
- Verstappen's floor damage cost him 0.1s per lap
- Hamilton: F1 floor rules change aimed at slowing down Mercedes
Sainz then set the fastest time in Q2, 0.001s ahead of teammate Leclerc but a poor Q3 lap meant he qualified down in eighth, four spots and half a second behind Leclerc.
"We had a very good Q2. When I saw myself there in first I was very happy," Sainz told DAZN F1. "My Q3 lap didn't go to plan. I just didn't know exactly how to extract the last few times out of the car.
"But I'm not going to let that Q3 lap to spoil what has been up until now a very good weekend for me. I'm very happy with how things have gone."
Leclerc impressed with a fourth spot on the grid, six tenths behind Red Bull polesitter Max Verstappen, despite "overdriving" his Ferrari SF21 earlier in the weekend.
"I was struggling with the car, overdriving a little bit," Leclerc told Sky Sports F1. "Not driving very well in general.
"I knew inside of me I could make a good lap but until you do it you never really know if you can. So then arrived qualifying and the feeling was good, straight from the beginning I built up the pace and managed to do that lap in Q3 which I'm very happy with."
Leclerc is hoping he can keep his more competitive 2021 Ferrari at the front but is wary of AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly behind him, who is starting the race on the more advantageous medium tyres.
"I'm quite impressed by AlphaTauri. They were very, very quick on the race pace yesterday and they are also starting on mediums tomorrow so it's going to be tricky," Leclerc explained. "Our goal is to obviously try our bit to keep our position, I think the top three realistically is not reachable yet.
"It's only the first qualifying, so let's keep the feet on the ground and keep working very hard. But it looks promising for now and I'm happy to be back a bit further up."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article New aero rules cost low-rake cars 1s per lap - Aston Martin
Next article Tsunoda says "strange" medium tyres had no grip at all in Q2
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
Audi pays tribute as F1 stalwart Beat Zehnder set for exit
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
21 h
Audi pays tribute as F1 stalwart Beat Zehnder set for exit
George Russell predicts key Ferrari "advantage" at F1 Mexican GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
22 h
George Russell predicts key Ferrari "advantage" at F1 Mexican GP
More from
Carlos Sainz
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Formula 1
Formula 1
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
More from
Ferrari
The mistakes that cost Lewis Hamilton a podium at F1’s US GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
The mistakes that cost Lewis Hamilton a podium at F1’s US GP
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Latest news
Ducati copies swingarm fins and Aprilia responds with upgraded version
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
53 min
Ducati copies swingarm fins and Aprilia responds with upgraded version
Jorge Martin concedes 2026 MotoGP title is “already lost” after Malaysian GP withdrawal
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
1 h
Jorge Martin concedes 2026 MotoGP title is “already lost” after Malaysian GP withdrawal
Layne Riggs had no problem with teammate going for the win despite title fight
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Martinsville
2 h
Layne Riggs had no problem with teammate going for the win despite title fight
MotoGP Malaysian GP: Alex Marquez claims pole from Marc Marquez; Jorge Martin out
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
2 h
MotoGP Malaysian GP: Alex Marquez claims pole from Marc Marquez; Jorge Martin out
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe