Carlos Sainz, ill in Jeddah, had his “hardest day in an F1 car”

The weekend doesn't get off to an ideal start. Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard arrived in Jeddah ill, and even had to miss the media day on Wednesday. If he was able to get behind the wheel of the Classic Ferrari for sale SF24 on Thursday, for the first two free practice sessions of the Saudi Arabian GP, ​​the Madrilenian was still not in top form and suffered on the uncompromising Corniche circuit.

“To be honest, the last 24 hours have been very difficult, confided Carlos Sainz, author of the 6th time in Free Practice 2. I'm happy to have managed to finish this Thursday and complete the testing program, but it was definitely my most difficult day in a Formula 1 on such a demanding circuit with high G-forces. Having gastroenteritis and being sick is not ideal. I struggled during testing, especially during the long stints, my stomach didn't really like it. At least I got a first feel of the car, even if I couldn't push it to the absolute limit. »

Sainz sees five-team fight for pole

Despite illness, Carlos Sainz gave of himself and was able to complete a good number of laps on Thursday in Jeddah, enough to acquire essential data but also a first feeling before qualifying. “I had good feelings and I was able to share them with my engineers, which will give me a good basis to work from. I hope I feel better [Friday]! »

According to the Spaniard, the fight will be very close between the five teams at the top of the table for pole position. « Red Bull continues to be strong on this circuit… Aston Martin seems to have taken a good step forward on this circuit as they did last year. THE Mercedes Benz are very close again and McLaren also, underlines the Scuderia pilot. There is a group of five teams where we are all very close to each other. It's a tricky circuit to do a clean lap, especially with the soft tire which gives a strange feeling on a lap, so I hope we can [get pole] among these five teams. »

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