Bryson DeChambeau ‘s Crushers GC lead team competition with seven more tournaments still to come
sports19 hours ago
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz will start on the front row next to pole-sitter Max Verstappen at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix in a stunning return to racing only two weeks after having surgery for appendicitis.
The tough Spaniard missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to his medical issue and returned to his race seat at Albert Park this week with no training since the operation.
Though short of full fitness, he has barely put a foot wrong in Melbourne, and on Saturday might have ripped pole from Verstappen's grasp but for a relatively slow final sector on his last flying lap.
"I’m not going to lie I'm not in my most comfortable state when I’m driving out there but I can get it done," Sainz told reporters.
"And as far as I can get it done without pain .... obviously (there is) a lot of discomfort and weird feelings, but no pain, so it allows me to push flat-out."
Sainz was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race in 2023 when he topped the podium at Singapore.
His fastest lap in Melbourne qualifying was a quarter of a second shy of Verstappen's best but Sainz said he might have been faster if he weren't short of practice.
"I think nowadays you need to be 930 to beat Max and today I wasn't. And probably due to that, I missed out on pole," he said.
"I will give it my absolute everything to do it because it's been a while since Singapore, and he's been on that top step since.
"But yeah, if there's one weekend where we have a good pace, it's this one. Tricky track to overtake, tricky on tyres. So who knows? I think we might have a chance."
Sainz's team mate Charles Leclerc qualified fifth but was promoted to fourth on the grid following a grid penalty to Red Bull's Sergio Perez.
Perez was third in qualifying but will start from sixth.
Leclerc topped the timesheets in the last two practice sessions but complained of balance problems during qualifying and abandoned his final run in the last session.
"All in all, not a clean qualifying," he said. "I wasn’t really happy with the feeling of the car, but tomorrow it’s a long race.
"There are four DRS zones and from now on I’ll focus on that to try and maximise the result from where we start."
ALSO READ
Bryson DeChambeau ‘s Crushers GC lead team competition with seven more tournaments still to come
sports19 hours ago
Organised crime, activists and states will be the main threats during the July 26-Aug. 11 Olympics and the Aug. 28-Sept. 8 Paralympics
sports1 day ago
The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine said he had joined the armed forces in the early days of the war
sports1 day ago
On Sunday, the final day of the adult competition, the UAE national team delivered a stellar performance, adding seven more medals to their tally
sports1 day ago
Tickets for the event, to be held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), go on sale on Tuesday
sports1 day ago
It was a long overdue triumph for Norris, who held the record for most podiums without a win (15)
sports1 day ago
The pre-race favourite is bidding to become the first man to win the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France double since Marco Pantani in 1998
sports2 days ago
Becomes the first player to win four individual titles on the Saudi Arabia-backed tour as Ripper GC win Team Event
sports2 days ago