"I felt like I had the pace for pole" - Carlos Sainz blames final sector 'snaps' after settling for P2 during 2022 F1 Hungarian GP qualifying

Carlos Sainz felt that he had the pace to secure the second pole position of his career at the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP today. The Spaniard rued his Ferrari snapping late in Q3 after managing to secure only a P2 for Sunday's race.

Sainz looked to be, by far, the more comfortable Ferrari driver over the course of Friday's Free Practice sessions. This form carried into qualifying, which was a mixed bag, owing to the weather conditions, with the session starting out wet and ending dry.

Carlos Sainz looked to have pole position wrapped up in a neat bow after Max Verstappen suffered a power loss and could only qualify in P10. His Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc was also unable to outpace him and only managed a P3 in the end. That was before Mercedes' George Russell put together a solid lap to claim his maiden pole in the sport and the German team's first front row starting position of 2022.

Speaking in his post-session interview in Parc-ferme with Naomi Schiff for Sky Sports F1, Carlos Sainz said:

“I am feeling better and better every race and every Qualifying session. Today I felt like I had the pace for pole position, but it went away from us in the final sector with a few snaps through the lap. Congratulations to George [Russell] because he must have done a pretty good lap there in the end and we'll race from P2 tomorrow.’’

When asked if he has what it takes to win at the Hungaroring after his overtaking masterclass at Le Castellet (Circuit Paul Ricard) last weekend, Sainz said:

“Yeah. I think we have the pace. Obviously, the start and then the tyre management will play a key role as always. The Mercedes’ pace is bit of an unknown and we will have to see how their race pace is tomorrow and if we’ll get them at the start, then I think it will be an exciting race.’’

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Carlos Sainz ready to prioritize Ferrari over himself for remainder of 2022 F1 season

Carlos Sainz has admitted that he is ready to put Ferrari's collective good ahead of his own in the ongoing 2022 F1 season.

The Spaniard had hoped to mount a title challenge this year after finishing 2021 as the fastest Ferrari-powered driver, a whisker ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc. He started the 2022 campaign strong before a slew of DNFs appeared to derail his charge.

Optimism crept in when the 27-year-old claimed his maiden F1 win at this year's British GP before it came crashing down during the 2022 F1 Austrian GP weekend after a horrific engine blowout. Another potential podium challenge also went begging due to improper strategy calls by Ferrari towards the end of the 2022 F1 French GP.

Sainz feels it is more prudent to become a supporting wingman for Leclerc if Ferrari is to have any chance of winning a world title for the first time since 2008.

Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports F1, the Spaniard said:

“It’s not easy. For me always the priority is the team, and I think I showed it very clearly once I was told to let Charles [Leclerc] by [at Silverstone], that I’m ready to give up my own interest for the interests of the team.”

Sainz further said:

“It is true that there’s some certain points of the race where I think inside the driver’s mind you have everything under control, and you know that the team needs to trust you sometimes in some decision making that you take – and I think that shows that we have a great relationship between the two parties, also including Charles. You know, I think we’re getting on very well and it’s been a strength for us in the last couple of years.”

Heading into the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP on Sunday, Carlos Sainz is P4 in the World Drivers' Championship standings with 144 points. Charles Leclerc is two spots above him with 170 points but still trailing leader Max Verstappen by 63 points. It will be interesting to see which Ferrari driver will prevail at the end of the weekend.