2022 British GP: Post-Qualifying reaction from Sainz, Leclerc, and Ferrari

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz claimed his first ever Formula 1 pole position on Saturday at 2022 British Grandprix qualifying. He becomes the 34th Ferrari driver and the second Spaniard after Fernando Alonso to start from the number one slot, in this instance, for his 150th Grand Prix. Lining up on the grid box behind him will be team-mate Charles Leclerc, who saw his chances of getting on the front row disappear in a spin on his last run. Splitting the two Ferraris will be Max Verstappen.

Sainz also become 104th Pole sitter in Formula One history on Saturday. Also today’s pole marks 237 for Scuderia Ferrari at Silverstone, its seventh of the season, from ten races. It was down to an amazing performance from Carlos Sainz, who came out on top in the extremely difficult conditions in the rain that fell during qualifying for the British Grand Prix. 

Carlos Sainz (P1)

“I’m extremely happy today! Securing my first pole at Silverstone in the wet is something special that I will never forget. The whole qualifying was very tricky, and every lap was a new adventure because of the track conditions. Finding grip and traction was a huge challenge and every lap you had to adapt.

On the very last attempt I went for it and managed to put a good lap together that gave us pole. The confidence for tomorrow is high and hopefully we can bring our good pace from Friday into the race. It will be a very tight battle with our competitors, but I’m ready for it and I’m sure we can put together a strong race and fight for the win. Let’s race.”

Charles Leclerc (P3)

“Unfortunately, I spun on that last lap in Q3 and didn’t put it together as I wanted to, so I am disappointed, but I am happy that Carlos finished on pole. I felt confident in the car and we were quite competitive, even in these conditions which is where we struggled quite a lot for the past two years.

It’s good to see that we’ve found some consistency in the wet. Strategies will be different between teams tomorrow, so whether it will be one or two stops, I hope we can gain something by making good moves and fight for a 1-2 for our team.”

Mattia Binotto, Team Principal & Managing Director

“It’s very satisfying to come away with pole position and third place in the difficult conditions we faced in today’s qualifying. It was a day where what mattered most was to stay focussed and Carlos certainly succeeded in that. So, he fully deserves this result. Securing his first pole position at such a demanding track and in these extreme conditions is the best possible confirmation of how Carlos’ confidence in the car has grown over recent races, especially after Canada.

Now we turn our attention to the race, the most important part of the weekend. Charles also had a good qualifying and he can move forward from his start position. However, it’s going to be a hard race tomorrow with many variables coming into play. We will now work on preparing to convert this pole into the best possible result tomorrow.”