Carlos Sainz has given his Ferrari mechanics a tough task to repair his SF24 in time for the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix after crashing out of Sunday morning’s qualifying session.
Riding high after victory last time out in Mexico, Sainz was fighting to make the top-10 Q3 shootout in qualifying at Interlagos.
A deluge on Saturday delayed Qualifying to 07:30 local time on Sunday morning, with the wet conditions persisting.
However, with the track clearing, drivers switched to intermediate tyres in Q2.
However, that added treachery to the driver’s mission to make the top-10 in qualifying and Sainz lost control of his Ferrari at Turn 2.
A dab of throttle at the apex was enough to send the Spaniard’s Ferrari into a spin and into the barriers, bringing out the Red Flags.
The impact caused significant damage to the rear of his car, which is a major problem for Ferrari.
With the race brought forward 90 minutes to 12:30 local time amid the threat of further rain, Ferrari has just four hours to repair Sainz’s car.
That wasn’t lost on Sainz, with his message over the team radio summing up the situation well.
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry guys,” he exclaimed, well aware of the issue his crash has caused.
Q2 resumed after a minor delay.
However, a further crash for Lance Stroll brought out a second red flag, ending the session early and dumping Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez out of qualifying.
Carlos Sainz ‘hasn’t been comfortable’ with Ferrari in the wet
Speaking after the session, Sainz revealed what went wrong from his perspective.
“It was the first lap on inters and I clearly misjudged the grip,” the Ferrari man said.
“Honestly, I haven’t been very comfortable with the car in the wet this year for some reason.
“We were on the line and on the limit for the whole session and not enjoying that one.
“We will try and see what we can do for later but clearly a mistake and I’m not very happy.”
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