BAKU, Azerbaijan — Carlos Sainz is dreaming of a fairytale podium for Williams after claiming a shock front row start for Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Sainz capitalised on one of the most chaotic qualifying sessions of modern times to line up second — Max Verstappen‘s late lap denied him pole position, which would have been the first for Williams since the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix.
“Try to stick it on the podium,” Sainz said of his hopes for Sunday. “I think I’m going to give it my best to give Williams a first podium. If it’s possible, great. And if it’s not, we will see.”
Sainz and Williams called the session perfectly. The Spanish driver crossed the line for his first timed Q3 lap at a perfect moment to capitalize on the drama unfolding all around and as a late sprinkle of rain fell.
His name was top of the order when Charles Leclerc‘s crash brought out red flags. He then stayed on provisional pole when championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed out after the session restarted, which set up another agonising wait under red flags.
As it turned out there was time for a late flurry of laps, but Sainz was able to improve on his original time — only for Verstappen to deny him pole by 0.4s. Sainz was surprised he was still so high once the dust had settled.
“Very happy,” Sainz said after the session. “Honestly, we nailed the qualifying today. Every time being on the right tyre at the right time and putting together some very strong laps.
“Obviously, the moment that a top car was going to put that lap together, we were always going to be those four or five tenths behind like we always are, but it was only one of them, which was Max — not surprised. And for the rest, we managed to beat them. And, yeah, we were in P2, which is great news.”
