MADRID, 23 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) took pole position this Saturday for the United States Grand Prix with the last lap of Q3 in Austin, where he will have the already champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) as his biggest rival in search for victory.
The man from Madrid arrived eagerly at the Circuit of the Americas, without looking at the general classification, fifth with options to seek the podium, but pointing to the hunger for victories. There was no surprise, with Ferrari and Red Bull on top, but with minimal differences, it was time to wait for the checkered flag.
Sainz achieved the third pole position of his life so far with a time of 1:34.356, 65 thousandths better than his teammate Charles Leclerc, but the Monegasque has a penalty of 10 positions on Sunday’s grid for engine changes. Thus, next to the Spanish in the front line will Verstappen.
“We are not going to fool ourselves, Red Bull is the favorite for the race, they usually have better pace and Max is doing very well,” said a serious Sainz, in the interview after getting out of the car, aware that the real work is to do. The Red Bulls will also have the motivation to dedicate a good result, including the Constructors’ World Championship, to its founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, who died this Saturday.
The wind bothered the pilots a lot in an already demanding COTA. However, neither Ferrari nor Red Bull failed, with Sergio Pérez fourth although he was also relegated by a five-place penalty. The Mexican aspires to defend his second position in the World Cup, with a point difference over Leclerc.
Thus, the British Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) will start third, a serious dominator of the American circuit in the past and who hopes to treat himself to a good end of the year. The Mercedes of a rival George Russell also of Sainz in the general will start fourth.
On the other hand, Fernando Alonso (Alpine) stayed close to the best throughout the session, but in Q3 he lost to Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin and Lando Norris’s McLaren being ninth. In addition, the Spaniard also has a five-place penalty, so he will have a difficult race in Austin.