Sainz not confident for race win from pole: "Red Bull are still favourites"

Carlos Sainz will start the United States Grand Prix from pole position as Ferrari beat Red Bull Racing again in qualifying. The Spanish driver gets his third pole position in Formula 1. 

Penalties applied

Sainz just pipped his teammate Charles Leclerc to P1, but he won't have his teammate right behind him on the grid due to a ten-place penalty for the man from Monaco. Sainz has been very close to getting more pole positions in recent weeks but has missed out by less than two tenths most weeks. He alluded to this in his interview. 

"It was fun, tricky with the wind. So gusty, every corner was an adventure and you don't know how much grip you'll get. Pole position was a long time coming getting close to it [in the recent weeks], but not quite getting there," Sainz said in the post-session interviews. 

Despite starting from pole position, Sainz still expects Red Bull to win the race. He knows he and Ferrari will have to be at their best to stop the 2022 World Champion from winning another race. "For tomorrow, Red Bull are still the favourite, they have better race pace. Red Bull have a good race-trim car. We do all we can to stay in front and win the race," he added.