Carlos Sainz: I don’t feel any pain, so I could attack

Carlos Sainz qualified second in Melbourne, just two weeks after surgery to remove his appendix. And although the Ferrari driver lost almost three-tenths of a second to pole holder Max Verstappen, he is satisfied with his result.

Charles Leclerc made a mistake in the decisive attempt and went wide of the curb in turn twelve. The Monegasque did not complete the lap and returned to the pits, leaving fifth place at the start.

Carlos Sainz (2nd): “The past few weeks have been difficult. I spent many days in bed waiting for today to see if I could take this position. I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle this weekend and now I was second at the start, having led almost all of qualifying. I almost didn’t believe in such an outcome, considering how difficult it was for me.

I am very happy with second place and very happy that I was able to challenge Red Bull this weekend. Yesterday I felt a bit rusty in the first laps, but gradually I picked up the speed and found the pace. I feel comfortable in the car.

I won’t lie and say I wasn’t completely comfortable, but I did what I had to do. I still have an uncomfortable feeling, but I don’t feel any pain. This allowed me to attack with all my might.”

Charles Leclerc (5th): “I had no chance to fight for pole. For some reason I couldn’t find a rhythm today. Even in the third practice I felt something was wrong, but I said to myself: “In qualifying, the confidence in the car will return.” Usually this approach works, but not today.

The front wheels didn’t grip the track as much as I wanted. On the last attempt we applied overly aggressive settings to the front wing, but we clearly overdid this. It’s a shame, but it is what it is.”