Sainz passes verdict on Las Vegas qualifying as risk of penalty hangs

07:28, 22 Nov

Updated: 07:30, 22 Nov

bySamson Ero

Carlos Sainz was buzzing with excitement after qualifying P3 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, despite the risk of a penalty hanging over him.

“On the wet, I was really quick… but happy with P3.”

- Carlos Sainz

The Williams driver, who secured third place behind Max Verstappen and Lando Norris for Sunday’s race, highlighted his optimistic mindset before reflecting on his pace in tricky conditions.

“I'm always optimistic. Dreaming is free, and I always try to think about myself doing well,” Sainz said during his post-session interview.

“This track maybe suited our car in the dry, and in the wet during FP3, we didn’t look very promising. But we made a few changes to the car that I think helped in the wet, and that allowed me, from the first lap of Q1, to finish every lap as P1.”

Carlos Sainz during qualifyng for the Las Vegas Grand Prix - Photo: Race Pictures

“On the wet, I was really quick, and on the intermediates, I knew the others might catch up a bit. But happy with P3,” he concluded.

The third place for Sainz marked his second-best qualifying performance for the Williams team so far. However, he risks losing his second-row starting spot after being summoned for a visit to the stewards following qualifying.

Sainz summoned by stewards

Sainz will also take a trip to the stewards after an incident involving Lance Stroll. The Spanish driver was deemed to have rejoined the track in an unsafe manner during the first part of qualifying.

Sainz went off the track during Q1 and rejoined in a way that appeared to compromise the Aston Martin driver, who was on a flying lap.

The 31-year-old and his team are expected to report to the stewards at 20:09 local time, with a decision expected afterwards.