‘I will be able to hold on’ – Carlos Sainz warns former teammate Max Verstappen he’ll have the pace to maintain pole

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has warned Max Verstappen that he has the pace to hold pole position at Silverstone after qualifying success.

Sainz will lead the pack at Silverstone in Sunday’s British Grand Prix in his maiden pole after enjoying the wet conditions in qualifying to put in a leading lap time.

Red Bull’s Verstappen will start alongside his former Toro Rosso teammate and will be full of confidence going into the race after Azerbaijan and Monaco success, which has put him 46 points clear at the top of the drivers’ standings.

Despite Sainz sitting 73 points off his Silverstone rival in fifth place, he has newfound confidence going into race day, and believes he has the pace required to land his first Grand Prix win.

“If I look back to FP2, the pace was there and I was feeling at home with the car, and I was pushing hard on the tyres,” he said.

“If the feeling is like it was in FP2, then I’m confident that I will be able to hold on to a lead and do my own race, pushing from the beginning.

“If the balance of the car is like it was in FP3, then I think it could be a bit more tricky. But we’ve changed a few things since FP3 because we found ourselves in with some issues that we didn’t expect.

“There’s no reason to believe that we shouldn’t be quick enough. It is true that the Red Bull is always as quick as us and sometimes quicker, sometimes a little slower,” Sainz continued.

“In the end, those races where it is so tight, it’s won by the detail. We need to focus on getting the details right with the strategy, the tyre management, and if we get these things right then we have good track position.”

Sainz’s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc completes the starting grid’s front three, but it’s the first time Sainz will lead the drivers, a dream come true for the 27-year-old.

“Leading the formation lap in a Ferrari will feel great. [It will be] the first time I will do it,” he continued.

“I haven’t forgotten the feeling since I last led a formation lap, in the Renault World Series.

“I think I’ve led a couple of races in Formula 1 since: I led at Portimao and it felt great.

“My target is to do it again.”