Carlos Sainz Jr just missed out on advancing to the top ten shootout at the Sochi Autodrom, falling just 0.219 seconds away, but will drop from eleventh to fourteenth on the grid thanks to the penalty carried over from Bahrain.
The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver admits that the team are lacking pace in Russia this weekend but felt he did his best in qualifying, although he remains disappointed that he will drop positions on the grid for colliding with Lance Stroll two weeks ago.
Sainz knows it will be difficult to move forward on Sunday but will be pushing hard to get the best result possible.
“Yesterday we were totally out of position, but today we managed to pick-up the pace a bit and to qualify in P11, which isn’t that bad,” said Sainz. “It’s just unfortunate that I have that 3-place grid penalty for tomorrow…
“We are definitely lacking some pace around this circuit, but it can be an interesting race. I’m really enjoying this midfield battle, which is making every Quali and race very exciting.
“I’d say points are possible and, even if it will be tough to go forward, I will give it my all and let’s see where we end up.”
