Sainz starts behind Perez and Verstappen: "Yeah, it’s a pity"

Carlos Sainz was on provisional pole position after the first run in Q3, but in the end he had to settle for fourth. This puts him behind the Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. The Spaniard thus has a big job in Azerbaijan if he wants to go towards victory.

That Sainz was unable to improve his first time in the all-important qualifying session had to do with a mistake in his final run. The Spaniard had to break his lap and saw all his direct competitors diving under his own time.

Sainz balks and hopes at the same time

"Yeah, it’s a pity but, at the same time, I think we’ve done some progress throughout the day. I was feeling in contention for pole that, after the last couple of races, especially prior to Monaco, I wasn’t," said Sainz, who is trying to see the positive in it. "So [it’s] good progress then and it’s what happens when you push to the limit.”

The Madrid native acknowledges that he pushed to the limit, but at the same time he knows better than anyone that the points at the Baku street circuit will not be distributed until Sunday. The race in Azerbaijan is always a guarantee for spectacle with often several safety cars. "Clearly, I did overstep it in Q3, but everything is still to play for tomorrow. Starting position here doesn’t matter that much, so we’re gonna push," Sainz concludes on Sky Sports.