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Carlos Sainz has lamented a mistake that saw him crash out of qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Ferrari recruit suffered a moment of oversteer at the final corner during Qualifying 2 and was unable to catch his SF21 as it snapped towards the barriers.
Having not set a time in that segment, it’s left Sainz to start from 15th at a Hungaroring track notoriously difficult for overtaking.
“This one is tough to take. I’m rarely involved in this type of incident and it hurts,” said the Spaniard.
“After a very strong run in Q1, going off in Q2 is the opposite of ideal.
“I was closing the lap, not pushing to the absolute limit, as it was only the first run of Q2 and unfortunately I was caught out by a big gust of wind, later confirmed on the data.
“I don’t want to use it as an excuse, it was a mistake on track and I apologise to the entire team.
“They did a great job last night and the car today felt quite good.
“Unfortunately, this is one of the worst possible tracks to have a bad qualifying because overtaking is tough here.
“I’ll do my best to recover and try to score as many points as possible tomorrow.”
There was disappointment on the other side of the garage too, as team-mate Charles Leclerc could manage no better than seventh.
“It was a bit disappointing, as we expected a little more than a P7,” said Leclerc.
“The high temperatures were not as much of a challenge as the wind was today.
“As it picked up in Q2, we started struggling with our rears and couldn’t maximise our potential.
“Tomorrow is when we score points though. Our race pace looks strong so I am confident.
“It is not an easy track to overtake on, so a good start will be essential.”
Leclerc will line up directly behind AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, who will share the third row with McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Lewis Hamilton will start from pole for the Hungarian Grand Prix, which will get underway at 23:00 AEST tonight.
