Carlos Sainz would have been on another level of contentment arriving at the Japanese GP. As the Ferrari star arrived at the Suzuka circuit, fresh from his victory in Australia, he was denied entry to the venue, credit to his own careless mistake.
F1 personnel are allotted individual passes that allow them to enter the circuit, and according to renowned F1 photojournalist Kym Illman, Sainz forgot to bring his designated pass for the Grand Prix. As a result, he resorted to “begging” the security personnel present near the gate of entry on Saturday.
”Praying for Pole? No. He was actually begging a gate attendant to allow him through the swipes as he did not have his pass. Thankfully, he was recognized and allowed free entry into the Suzuka paddock,” wrote Illman on his official Instagram post.
Thanks to his fame and the tag of a Scuderia Ferrari driver, security personnel recognized Sainz and allowed him the free entry. Once in, the 29-year-old got back to the task with FP3, followed by Qualifying later in the day.
However, Ferrari failed to make much ground on Saturday amid enormous hopes as the Italian team’s drivers delivered an underwhelming qualifying session much to the disappointment of fans. Amid this, Sainz’s performance was the only positive thing that happened to them on the track.
Where do Carlos Sainz and Ferrari stand on Sunday in Suzuka?
Ferrari arrived in Suzuka fresh from their 1-2 finish in Melbourne. With a much improved SF-24 that’s better in race pace, straight-line speed, and has less tire degradation, the Italian outfit was looking to continue the momentum in Japan, but only just.
The team from Maranello was no match for the Austrian team in terms of qualifying as Max Verstappen took pole for the race on Sunday, and his teammate Sergio Perez followed suit to lock out the front row. Coming back to the Scuderia, Sainz’s P4 was the only highlight for them.
The Spaniard had a gap of 0.485 seconds to Verstappen and qualified behind Lando Norris, who was in P3. Surprisingly, Sainz was also two-tenths slower than his former McLaren teammate! This comes as quite a shock after their brilliant show at Albert Park.
While Sainz is hopeful that a fight for the podium is on the brink, his teammate Charles Leclerc has certainly let down the team. The Monegasque driver, known for his speed, astonishingly, qualified in P8!
All in all, Ferrari would look to seal at least P3 on Sunday via Carlos Sainz, and would want Leclerc to cover up the deficit, banking on their improved race pace. For now, that is the only way to continue chasing Red Bull in the championship.
