Carlos Sainz set the fastest lap time of the 2022 French GP and was faster than every other driver by a whopping 2 seconds.
Carlos Sainz was undoubtedly the driver of the day for Ferrari and fans during the 2022 French GP. The Spaniard finished the race P5 but could have very well finished on the podium if not for a horrendous strategy by Ferrari.
Sainz started P19 after a grid penalty for taking a new Power unit. But with the new upgraded engine and aerodynamic floor and package, he showed untouchable speed. And the Spaniard set the fastest time in FP2 and Q2 during the weekend.
During the final Qualifying session, he would propel teammate Charles Leclerc to the Pole position with a well-executed tow. But Ferrari’s fortunes would not continue the same way on Sunday.
the footage of carlos sainz giving charles leclerc a massive tow in sector 2, helping him in securing a pole position #frenchgp pic.twitter.com/af6xO7t3KY
— ً (@forsainz) July 23, 2022
He would finish the race P5 gaining 10 points in the race. But the Spaniard gained an extra point for the fastest lap showing a searing pace throughout the race.
Carlos’s fastest time of the day of 1:35.781 seconds was set at the 51st lap of the race. And it was close to two seconds faster than the next set by Verstappen. Maybe this would boost the hopes of the tifosi who are waiting for the next round in Hungary.
Carlos Sainz says Ferrari will recover from the loss
Carlos Sainz gave an all-out performance on the track. He had a bit of bad luck with the strategy but has acknowledged his pace throughout the weekend.
Charles Leclerc crashed out of the race during lap 19. The Monegasque spun and hit the barrier. This gifted Max Verstappen the lead.
While Carlos fought his way from P19 to P3 and faced stiff battles from Sergio Perez and George Russell. But he faced a 5-second penalty for an unsafe release from his earlier pitstop.
🟣 #FrenchGP As we all saw, Carlos was flying yesterday, scoring an extra point for setting fastest lap…
…by nearly 2 seconds 😅 pic.twitter.com/Kd8Ps4wG3g
— Team 55 (@Team55_) July 25, 2022
Despite the focus of Charles, the Ferrari strategy did not go according to plan. Carlos was called to pit earlier than he expected.
However, Carlos said, “I think without the penalty if we would have started on pole or on the first row, the win would have been definitely possible.”
Also Read: Even if Charles Leclerc wins every remaining races, Max Verstappen could still win the championship
