Sainz feeling “back at home” in the wet

In brief

Sainz “feeling back at home” in the wet after lacking pace in Singapore

Having struggled to match team mate Charles Leclerc in last weekend’s wet Singapore Grand Prix, Sainz was encouraged by his performance in practice yesterday.

Sainz finished third last weekend after struggling to keep pace with Leclerc and winner Sergio Perez throughout the race. After Friday’s two set practice sessions at Suzuka, Sainz says he is feeling more confident in the tricky conditions compared to the previous weekend.

“It was important for me after a difficult race for me in Singapore in these conditions to try and get back on top of the car today in these wet conditions and see if I could find my rhythm again,” Sainz said. “We managed to do so – I was quick and feeling back at home again.

“For sure there will be some compromises to be taken. Definitely that rain threat for Sunday looks likely, so there’s going to be a few things to think twice about when doing qualifying tomorrow. So I think it’s going to be an interesting weekend ahead.”

Bottas “happy to help” Zhou

Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas says rookie team mate Zhou Guanyu regularly approaches him with questions or to seek advice from him about matters to do with driving.

Zhou is the only rookie on the 2022 grid and will remain at Alfa Romeo alongside Bottas for 2023. The pair have established a strong working relationship during their first season together and Bottas says his younger team mate will often come to him for advice.

“Every now and then he asks directly questions from me and obviously I’m more than happy to help,” said Bottas. “He’s been progressing a lot this year anyway and he’s been also learning just by watching the data, et cetera. But if he has any questions he always asks them, so that’s good.

Pirelli confirms compounds for North American rounds

Pirelli have confirmed the three tyre compounds they will bring to the two upcoming rounds following this weekend’s race at Suzuka.

For both races at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin and at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Pirelli will use their medium range of C2, C3 and C4 compounds. This is the same selection of compounds used at circuits such as the Hungaroring, Spa and Monza.

Pirelli have said that this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix will be the…