Carlos Sainz admits he nonetheless doesn’t really feel at dwelling within the cockpit of his Williams System 1 automotive after a disappointing exhibiting in Chinese language Grand Prix dash qualifying.
The Spaniard joined Williams from Ferrari over the winter and set the tempo in pre-season testing earlier than crashing behind the protection automotive through the Australian Grand Prix final weekend.
Sainz, with 4 grand prix victories to his identify, might solely handle thirteenth place on the grid for Saturday’s dash race in Shanghai – in distinction to team-mate Alex Albon, who progressed into the highest 10 – and conceded he’s nonetheless studying his new environment.
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“I’ve struggled all day with the steadiness, and each classes have been fairly robust,” Sainz stated.
“In dash quali we had a couple of points, together with a bizarre feeling with the seat that we’ll look into, however total it comes all the way down to me nonetheless not feeling at dwelling within the automotive.
“We had been combating some steadiness issues and particularly coming all the way down to Q2, not understanding precisely the place to seek out the lap time and a little bit of overdriving.
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Pictures
“I nonetheless must be taught and perceive many issues about it and I do know, with extra mileage, it can come. Hopefully tomorrow we are able to put the whole lot collectively and enhance in the present day’s consequence for Sunday.
“It has been a troublesome weekend up till now, we’re looking for the steadiness of the automotive, it feels fairly completely different right here with the wind and, as I stated, I’m struggling to seek out lap time on the subject of qualifying.”
Albon believes tyre degradation might play a pivotal function through the dash race on condition that many groups appear to be combating temperatures.
“Tyres should not that simple to know what to do with them. I feel the tyres have been – we have seen it this yr to date – very delicate, and lengthy corners like they’re in China are likely to make the tyres work a bit tougher,” he stated.
“It is onerous to get them into a very good place so we’ll do some work in a single day and attempt to get again stronger tomorrow.
“I feel graining goes to be an enormous speaking level, the entrance particularly, which is what’s been onerous in low gasoline as properly however in excessive gasoline it will get uncontrolled.
“So I feel it should be a really managed race, sadly it’d look a bit boring within the first few laps and then you definitely’ll see a little bit of a race in direction of the tip.”
On this article
Mark Mann-Bryans
System 1
Carlos Sainz
Williams
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