Sainz insists Williams are ‘becoming stronger every race’ as he hails P3 result in Las Vegas Qualifying
Carlos Sainz believes Williams are “becoming stronger every race” after taking an impressive third-place in a wet Qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The Spaniard will start on the second row for the 50-lap race having only been beaten by title challengers Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in a treacherous Qualifying session.
It marks Sainz’s second best Qualifying performance of the season after he started P2 in Azerbaijan – also on a high-speed, low-downforce circuit – before taking a podium in the race.
“I’m always optimistic – dreaming is for free and I always try and think about myself doing well,” said Sainz when asked if he expected such pace in the wet, having also avoided a penalty after being investigated for a potential unsafe rejoin in Q1.
“This track maybe suited our car in the dry, and in the wet in FP3 we didn’t look very promising but we did a few changes to the car that I think helped in the wet and that allowed me to, from the first lap of Q1, every time I was finishing the lap I was P1.
“On extreme wets I was really quick, on inters I knew maybe the others would catch up a bit, but happy with P3.
Williams has proved to be best of the rest this season behind McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, with Sainz admitting that although they remain underdogs the team has become stronger across the campaign.
“I think the US fans love a bit of an underdog, an underdog fight, and I think they see myself with Williams as an underdog but also as an [upcoming] project,” added Sainz.
“We are becoming stronger every race, every lap that we do together, and it’s great to see them supporting us. I would have loved to give them pole today because that would have been a massive cheer then, but we were just not quite there.”
Team mate Alex Albon was unable to join Sainz in the top-10 after being eliminated in Q1 after hitting the barrier on the exit of Turn 16 and breaking the front-right suspension on his Williams.
“Just a little bit of a snap in the place you don’t want to have a snap,” said Albon.
“It was sketchy out there, sketchy for everyone, a lot of aquaplaning. I’m surprised we were driving in that weather, to be honest.
“It was fun while it lasted and I just got caught out. Nothing really to say. I think my lap was going to be good. I’ve been quick all weekend, and that’s just how it is sometimes.”
