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Carlos Sainz Jr. expressed his delight after he qualified in fifth position for his home race in Spain.
Sainz Jr had been a top 10 contender throughout the weekend but completed a fine lap in the final shootout session in qualifying to register his best grid slot in front of his home fans
“It feels great, exactly what I was planning and imaging before the season,” he said.
“It was my time now to show everyone that Red Bull was right and after these first five races, I finally start to feel more comfortable in Formula 1. It is still one quarter of a championship and a long way to go, but it has been a positive start.”
Max Verstappen finished in sixth position to ensure that Toro Rosso locked out the third row of the grid
"In the end, fifth and sixth is a great opportunity for the race," he said. "Of course, qualifying is about putting everything together. It’s not 100%, it’s maybe 95%, but still to be sixth is great.
"I think in terms of performance we are looking much stronger than the other races that we had so far, compared to the guys behind us against whom we are normally competing.
"I’m very confident for the race, fifth and sixth will be hard. But on this track it’s difficult to overtake and we are very strong in the fast corners, so if they can stay behind us for a few laps, we can kill their tyres."
