Setting the pace in Q2 at Imola, Carlos Sainz rued his call to go out last in the pole position shoot-out as he reckons the traffic on his out-lap cost him a top-five grid position.

But still qualifying sixth, Williams team principal James Vowles was on the radio after qualifying to applaud the Spaniard’s efforts and the Q2 lap that will “stay with us all year”.

James Vowles’ unheard radio message to Carlos Sainz

Having finished inside the top ten in all three practice hours, Sainz went into qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix chasing a top ten grid slot.

It looked for a moment that he could perhaps even fight for a top four or five position as he set the pace in Q2.

The Williams driver clocked a 1:15.198 to beat the McLaren team-mates, who had been setting the pace throughout the weekend.

Alas when it came to Q3, Sainz was the very last driver to leave the pits for his final run and found himself playing in the traffic, which hurt his preparation.

He finished Q3 with the sixth fastest time, his 1:15.432 just over two-tenths down on his Q2 best.

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Vowles applauded his driver, with Sainz qualifying P6 for the third race in succession.

“Carlos,” said Vowles, “I was just going to say, yeah, it would have P5 but really well done under the circumstances. Really impressive laps.

“The lap that you did in Q2, it will stay with us all year. And, yeah, really, really impressive driving. Let’s go get it.”

Sainz, replying to his team principal, voiced his regret in the moment that it could’ve been better had he not made the call to go out as the last of the 10 drivers.

“Thank you James, and it was my call to go late so I took the risk so I’m not…” he said.

The three-time Grand Prix winner shared more about that risk when he spoke with Sky F1 after qualifying.

Revealing it was his call to be the last of the 10 runners on the track in Q3, he had hoped to capitalise on track evolution as well as grabbing the slipstream from those ahead.

“The good thing,” he said, “is that I know that lap is perfectly repeatable, with a good out-lap again in Q3 and doing everything. Okay, 15.1 15.0 was the limit of the car today, and I know I could have done it in Q3.

“The problem is we took a risk by going last. We saw ourselves maybe potentially fighting for the top five, top four.

“I said, ‘Let’s go last, let’s try and maximise the track evolution. Get a slipstream on the straight, and maybe we are top four, top three.’

“It backfired massively, and we did 15.4, which is four-tenths from where we should be.”

“I ended up doing 15:4 in Q3 with a lot of traffic on the out-lap,” he added. “We got into a massive fight between Antonelli [it was Russell, ed’s note] and Gasly and me trying to go at the end, trying to maximise track evolution and a slipstream. It compromised my Q3.”

Sainz, though, was anything but disappointed as he believes his pace at Imola shows that he is getting on top of the Williams F1 car.

“Today, I don’t care so much, because I saw so much potential within the car and within myself,” he said. “I felt so at one with a car, that the difference between being P6 and P5 is not big enough for me to be disappointed with not maximising the top five, which was possible today.

“That’s why I don’t care, because it’s only one position from the 15.1 and I’m very proud of the speed that we had today on a very demanding track with the high confidence corners, and in my six race, to be so fast is a very good sign.”

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