Sainz ‘struggling to understand’ Ferrari turnaround in Mexico qualifying

Sainz will join teammate Charles Leclerc on the front row of the grid for Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix after surprising everyone in Q3.

In the lead up to the final segment of qualifying, it looked like Ferrari was a step behind Red Bull and Mercedes in the fight for pole.

Leclerc and Sainz claimed first and second after the initial runs in Q3 - where they stayed - as Max Verstappen was unable to topple them.

When asked about Ferrari’s upturn in form in the latter part of qualifying, Sainz couldn’t explain it.

“Honestly, it was a very strange one,” Sainz said.

“I've struggled all weekend to put a lap together and the first one I put a lap together [for] it was P1 at the time and then Charles beat me by half a tenth, one tenth.

“I just struggle to understand where suddenly we can find half a second and then go half a second slower in the next lap.

“It's very tricky with the tyres, the feeling with the car is very strange around this circuit. But we managed to put a good lap when it counted and it puts us in a good position for tomorrow.”

Ferrari have typically struggled on race day, particularly with tyre wear in F1 2023.

Looking ahead to the race, Sainz said: “Clearly we are not as strong in high fuel as we are in low fuel. 

“I think our car benefits a lot from that new tyre, soft tyre feel at the rear and we are going to see how we are going to do tomorrow to keep those tyres alive to keep that Red Bull behind.

"Having two cars in front is a good advantage, so we are going to try our best.”