Carlos Sainz Jr. says he feels ‘very positive’ after out-qualifying Renault Sport Formula One Team team-mate Nico Hülkenberg for a second consecutive race weekend in Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Spanish driver starts eighth for the race and admits it was a very tight qualifying session at the Circuit de Monaco with his Renault team needing to make changes between the sessions in order to be a factor.
“It was a very tight one today,” said Sainz. “After Q1 we had to react and we changed a few things on the car to try and get closer to the 1:12 mark.
“We got closer still in the second session and then in Q3 we did a good job, taking eighth, even though the out lap in run two was not the best.”
Sainz will start the race on the new Hypersoft tyre and degradation with it has been high so could make it a difficult race for him, and with Monaco being well known for being hard to overtake on, the Spaniard is aware that undercuts and overcuts will play a big role in the race on Sunday.
“Tomorrow will be a tough race: a one-stop strategy on the Hypersoft won’t be easy with tyre degradation, so it might be one of the hardest Monaco races in recent seasons,” said Sainz.
“The undercuts and overcuts will play a big part and so will traffic. We have some things to think about overnight but I feel very positive.”
