"Came as a bit of a surprise" - Carlos Sainz secures career-first pole position at 2022 F1 British GP qualifying

Ahead of the 2022 British Grand Prix this weekend, Carlos Sainz, at his 105th Grand Prix, took pole position, an achievement that the Spaniard has been chasing for a long time. He managed to beat both championship leader Max Verstappen and teammate Charles Leclerc to take his maiden pole at Silverstone, where he hopes that Ferrari's pace will help him secure his much-anticipated maiden race win.

In a post-qualifying media interaction, Carlos Sainz said:

“It was a good lap. I was struggling a lot with the standing water on the intermediates, there was a lot more standing water on the racing line and it was very easy to catch snaps and lose the lap.”

He continued:

“In the end I put together a lap that I didn’t think was anything special, but I just put it on the board and see how it is, and it was pole position, which came as a bit of a surprise.”

The Ferrari driver has not had the best of luck in the 2022 season but has managed to thrive in the tricky conditions presented by the unpredictable weather that Great Britain is known for. This weekend, he became the 104 F1 polesitter.

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Ferrari is confident that Carlos Sainz will soon win his maiden F1 Grand Prix

Despite Carlos Sainz's struggles in the 2022 F1 season so far, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto revealed that given the visible progress he has made over the last few months, the team is confident that the Spaniard will soon secure his first F1 race win.

In an interview with Corriere dello Sport, the Italian said:

“[Carlos] Sainz is driving better than at the beginning of the season and will soon take his first victory. Today he had something more and it is a pity that he did not win. Without a little mistake, perhaps he would have made it, but he was good at keeping the pace and attacking until the last lap.”

Tomorrow, Carlos Sainz will be starting the British Grand Prix from the front of the grid for the first time in his career, giving him the perfect opportunity to win his first race, especially with Ferrari's competitive pace against the likes of Red Bull. However, with reigning world champion Max Verstappen breathing down his neck in second and Charles Leclerc in third, it is safe to assume that the Spaniard's drive to the checkered flag will not be an easy one.

Catch him at the British GP on Sunday July 3, 2022.