At the 2024 Australian GP, Ferrari looked the closest any team has been in a while to challenge Red Bull. All throughout the practice sessions, Q1 and Q2, the SF-24 looked like a more well-balanced and pacey car in the hands of Carlos Sainz than Max Verstappen’s RB20. Despite this, Verstappen was able to snatch pole position away from the #55 driver on the last flying lap of the Q3 shoot-out. As it turns out, Verstappen may not have inherited pole on pure performance as telemetry data suggests it was a minor mistake on Sainz’s end that allowed the Dutchman to slot his car in P1 for tomorrow’s Grand Prix.
According to the Ferrari driver’s telemetry data as seen on Twitter, he was on course for pole at the Albert Park street circuit, however, he went too deep into turn 9 on his final flying lap. This meant that he had to lift off the throttle into turn 10 – which made him lose time as compared to Verstappen.
In the end, Verstappen took pole away from Sainz with a 1:15:915 lap. According to the calculations, Sainz lost about four-tenths of a second owing to that minor mistake which eventually pegged him back to P2 with a lap time of a 1:16:185.
The Ferrari had looked very strong in the final sector all throughout the weekend, and Sainz did manage to improve in the final part of the circuit, however, it wasn’t enough for him to pip the Dutchman to pole. Irrespective, the Spanish racing ace’s Q3 effort is commendable given he has just returned from an appendicitis surgery that kept him out of the Saudi Arabian GP.
Carlos Sainz is still recovering from the aftereffects of his Saudi Arabian nightmare
Formula 1 drivers feel the bulk of the G-forces on their lower body in high-load situations like cornering and braking. With Sainz still recuperating from an appendicitis surgery, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he isn’t 100% ready yet when it comes to getting the “feel” of the car.
The fast left-right nature of the turn 9-turn 10 complex explains why Sainz may have miscalculated his braking and turn-in during his final Q3 flying effort. Alex Albon, who had suffered the same ailment last year had even said that the feeling in the car would be strange for Sainz to begin with.
Albon explained (as quoted on X (formerly Twitter)), “There is no pain. There is nothing to worry about. It’s just a weird feeling.” That being said, despite his problems in the car, Sainz was able to comfortably outpace his teammate, Charles Leclerc who is set to start tomorrow’s race from P5 after being more than half a second off Verstappen’s pole-lap.
