"Happy to be in third position," says Ferrari's F1 driver Carlos Sainz

Styria [Austria], July 2 : In the sprint race on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring, Scuderia Ferrari's driver Carlos Sainz finished in the third position. After the race, he said that he was happy to be in third position.

The Austrian Grand Prix is set to take place on Sunday and Carlos Sainz will be hoping to finish on the podium.

In the Driver's Championship, Carlos Sainz is in the fifth position with 74 points.

Carlos Sainz finished the sprint race in the third spot behind Red Bull drivers, Sergio Perez in the second position and Max Verstappen in the first.

According to the official website of Formula 1, Carlos Sainz said, "Yeah, honestly very happy to be in third position, after how the day started with the brake-by-wire issue in Q1 and only managing to do one lap."

He added, "To then progress the way we did through quali and put ourselves today in P3 I think is the maximum, so I'm very happy with this Saturday."

As for whether he feels excited about what's possible in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, in which he will start third behind teammate Charles Leclerc and Verstappen, he said: "I've been very comfortable, especially today since the first lap of qualifying, that was actually my only lap of quali in Q1.

"I looked very quick and very at ease with the car and kept the feeling through in the wet, and hopefully tomorrow in the dry I confirm a bit the step and we can be strong in the whole race."

When asked about competing with Max Verstappen, Spanish driver Carlos Sainz said, "Battling Verstappen is a lot to ask, right now. I never say no, never say never, but you know how tricky it will be. We are in a position though with two cars right behind him and ready to attack."

Carlos Sainz's teammate Charles Leclerc finished the race in the 12th position which is an inferior finish according to the standards of the Ferrari driver.

When asked whether he was frustrated by Ferrari's overall pace, Charles Leclerc said, "Not of Ferrari. Of myself, for sure, I am disappointed in the race overall - I haven't been strong."

As per the official website of Formula 1, Charles Leclerc said, "It's been three races now that whenever I'm on slicks on a track that his half dry, half wet, I am nowhere. We need to understand on my side what I'm doing wrong in terms of driving."

While concluding he said, "Obviously it seems to work on the dry, it seems to work also when it's full wet, but when it's in between the two I'm nowhere. Again, it's been three races, qualifying in Barcelona where I thought there was a problem, in Canada, and now here. We need to find it and improve in those conditions, as it's compromising a lot our season, as it's the third race in a row that we've had those conditions."