Carlos Sainz sets clear Azerbaijan GP target as ‘huge advantage’ emerges

Carlos Sainz so nearly delivered a shock pole position for Williams, in a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying of record-breaking proportions.

With a total of six red flags thrown – the most every seen in an F1 qualifying session – Sainz was sitting on provisional pole until minutes before the end of Q3. He ultimately secured P2, and is chasing a podium on Sunday. He has the “huge advantage” of two sets of hard tyres to play with.

Carlos Sainz and Williams: Azerbaijan GP podium on the cards?

With Lewis Hamilton dropping out in Q2, while Championship leader Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc hit the wall in Q3, Sainz’s chances of a shock result were growing. The Williams driver had dodged the red flag delays to get a provisional pole lap on the board.

When Lando Norris struck the wall at Turn 15, another threat had fallen. Sadly for Sainz, Verstappen held his nerve in trademark fashion, making it back-to-back pole positions.

Still, P2 on the grid for Sainz was an incredible result, as he reaped the rewards for keeping his car on the track, when various frontrunners could not.

“Very happy. Honestly, we’ve nailed qualifying today,” he said after the session.

“Every time, being on the right tyre at the right time, and putting together some very strong laps.

“Obviously, the moment that a top car was going to put a lap together, we were always going to be those four or five tenths behind, like we are always, but it was only one of them which was Max, no surprise. And for the rest, we managed to beat them. And yeah, we were in P2, which is great news.”

He added: “I’ve been putting good laps together this year in qualifying. It hasn’t been my weakness or my issues at all.

“Again, today, we proved that the speed on this car and this team is there. I’m delivering in qualifying when it counts, and unfortunately, just the year in terms of races and points is not going the way we want.

“But as long as the speed is there, which, again, today proves, the points and the good races will come, and I’m not worried.”

With just 16 points on the board thus far in 2025, Sainz has the chance to boost his total significantly in Baku. If he achieves his target for the race, then he will do exactly that.

“Plan for tomorrow, try and stick it in the podium,” he confirmed.

“I think I’m going to give it my best to give Williams that first podium [sic]. If it’s possible, great. And if it’s not, we will see.”

Key Azerbaijan GP talking points from PlanetF1.com

👉 Winners and losers from the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying

👉 Data reveals how Max Verstappen turned the tables on Sainz with Baku pole

Reacting to Sainz’s front row achievement, Williams team principal James Vowles told Sky F1: “What I’m happy about is the team’s done brilliant work over the last 10 days.

“We have not been good in qualifying, getting the tyres ready and working. And this weekend, the standout for me is that every time we’ve gone out, [F]P1 to qualifying, first lap, we can get that tyre working.

“So quick car and good result, and well done to Carlos. You saw out there how tricky it is. Brilliant, brilliant driver.”

Vowles acknowledges that several strong contenders will be looking to work their way up the order on Sunday. Piastri, Norris and Leclerc are such examples.

However, Sainz has an important weapon ready for use on race day, that being two sets of new hard tyres, the compound which Vowles believes will be most popular.

“The good news is, the car was quick on Friday, both Alex [Albon] and Carlos,” Vowles continued. “It’s always close in that midfield range.

“We’ve got to accept, Verstappen, the two McLarens, they’re quick, and the Ferraris were quick as well. But when you start ahead of them, as you know here, you do have an opportunity to race them.

“The hard tyre is really good. You’ll see people focusing very much on that in the race. We’ve got two with Carlos, which I think is a huge advantage.

“But here’s what the race will be. None of the sims we do overnight will actually tell you a single thing about what the race is, because it’ll be a combination of VSC, safety cars and red flags.”

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