Carlos Sainz Jr felt he had one of his best qualifying performances of the season in Belgium as he made it through to the top-ten shoot-out in his Scuderia Toro Rosso, and hopes to be able to convert it into a points finish on Sunday.
The Spaniard qualified tenth at Spa-Francorchamps, and admitted after the session that he had been eagerly awaiting the qualifying session, despite the circuit not being one that suits the Renault-powered car.
“I’m enjoying this track so much!” expressed Sainz. “I’ve been waiting all weekend for the qualifying session, because in free practice you always carry more fuel and the car doesn’t feel as fast… But I knew that once we got to qualifying I’d really feel the speed and that’s just what happened out there today.
“I’m really pleased with getting through to Q3. Even though my last run could have been a little bit better, it was a good result for us today. It was a surprise because on paper it looked something very difficult to achieve.
“It’s not the track that suits us the most so tomorrow’s race will be difficult, but we are going to push as hard as we can, make the most out of any mistakes the others do and hopefully finish within the top ten.
“I must say I think this is one of the best qualifying sessions I’ve had this year, even though now it’s time to forget this and look ahead to tomorrow’s race, as that’s when the points are given.”
