Sainz fears Mercedes and Red Bull: 'They will put pressure on us'

Carlos Sainz set an excellent result during qualifying for the Russian Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon. The Spaniard managed to set the second fastest time, giving him an excellent starting position for the race.

The Ferrari driver is positioned on the grid between Lando Norris and George Russell, who can be found in places one and three respectively. Sainz will be hoping he can take advantage of Norris' speed during the start, although he knows he will need a bit of luck to do so.

"I either get a good getaway and it's a direct race into Turn 2, or if not, obviously I'll need to try to find a slipstream," he explained to Motorsportweek.com. "We know we are not the fastest on the straights and we are going to need to find some tow, some draft, because if not, it's going to be a long run down into Turn 1."

Pressure from Mercedes and Red Bull

Sainz knows he will have to keep a close eye on the drivers behind him as well. "Obviously we have the two Mercs and the Red Bull that are going to be pushing us a lot. They are clearly, around here, half a second to a second quicker than us – so at some point they will put pressure on us and we will need to see if we can keep ourselves ahead."