Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz was surprised after qualifying fourth for Saturday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Spanish driver placed behind teammate Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell, and admitted being confused over the lack of pace in Q3.
“I think we were very strong from the beginning of Q1, a bit like we saw in FP1 and testing, very good over one lap,” Sainz said.
“I did a very conservative lap in Q2 and tried to save that tire for the race. I thought we had two or three-tenths in the pocket going into Q3 and for some reason, those two or three-tenths never came from Q2.
“It shows that there’s maybe something to look into in Q3 because we didn’t make the progress that we normally do.”
Despite being surprise with how his machinery handled in Q3, the Spaniard said he is “very happy with the car, I’m happy with the progress of the team, and now it’s time to go racing.”