Williams driver Carlos Sainz Jr. put together one of his best sessions on Friday at the Italian Grand Prix.
Sainz finished in the top three of both Free Practice 1 and 2, challenging the McLarens and Ferraris at the top.
The Spanish driver isn’t having the season he hoped for, losing out in the battle with his teammate, Alex Albon, in both qualifying and races.
He made the move over from Ferrari, and Sainz is left adapting to an entirely new team, car, and subsequently, power unit as well.
Over the past couple of races, he has started getting more comfortable, and it has culminated in a strong start for the Italian Grand Prix.
“Yeah, honestly, in terms of lap time and performance, it looks like an encouraging day,” Sainz told F1 TV.
“I think we seem to hit the ground running this morning with a good setup and a good balance that seemed to give us decent lap times. In terms of confidence, not quite up there.
“I’ve been struggling a bit in Turn 11 and Turn 7 to throw the car in and be at home. The car feels quite different to a Ferrari around here. It has some very good traits, some very difficult ones, but every lap I do, I’m trying to learn how to adapt around and drive around it.
“But yeah, promising pace, as I said. Now I just need to make sure I feel more comfortable on the first lap on softs when you put this first lap on the tyre.
“And also a bit in a couple of corners where I’m still lacking a bit. But all in all, with all those things here and there, good pace.”
During FP1, Sainz’s fastest lap was five tenths off the pace of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and less than a tenth away from Lando Norris, who set the benchmark in FP2.
While it is only practice, and engine modes are unknown, Sainz looks poised for potentially his best result in a Williams and back to where he was during his time at Ferrari.
Italian Grand Prix Free Practice 2 Results
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Ollie Bearman (Haas)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
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