Sainz encouraged despite missing Q3 by thousandths

Carlos Sainz was so unfortunate to miss out on an appearance in the third and final part of qualifying yesterday, missing out on the top 10 shootout by 0.002 seconds to his team mate Nico Hulkenberg.

However, starting P11 could be a blessing in disguise, as the Spaniard will have free reign on which tyres he wants to use for the start of the race, a luxury those in the top ten do not receive.

Haas are only eight points behind Renault in the constructors’ championship, and if the French team are to hold on to P4, which they have held for so long, they could do with Sainz scoring a few more points.

The future McLaren driver has only managed 11 points in the last nine races, but believes his luck could change this evening.

He said: "Today was encouraging and it's good news to see we are in the mix again.

“It's usually a great race here as you can follow cars and you can overtake, so there's potential for a very interesting day tomorrow."