Sainz sees problem: 'We're struggling to get into the top five'

Carlos Sainz could be reasonably satisfied with the result during the qualification of the Italian Grand Prix. The driver set the seventh fastest time, which means he will start ahead of his teammate on Saturday afternoon.

"I think it was a smooth one throughout qualifying today," Sainz told Sky Sports afterward. "Since the start of Q1, we saw that we were a bit too far away from the top four and at a track like this we want to do well for the Tifosi we are struggling to get into the top five".

"But we kept it going throughout the session with good lap times and a very close relationship between me and Charles," he continued. "We want more for the future, but it's close. We're on P7 and P8, good progress from last year."

Competitor McLaren did a lot better during qualifying. The team, with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, achieved fourth and fifth times, finishing just behind Red Bull Racing and Mercedes.