Carlos Sainz: We changed the settings before the race

      In Shanghai, Alex Albon led Williams to the qualifying final for the second time in a row, where he scored the tenth time. His teammate Carlos Sainz qualified fifteenth and said that after Saturday's sprint, in which he was thirteenth, the team made noticeable adjustments to the settings before Sunday's race.

      Alex Albon (10th): "Such solid results! According to our calculations, the entire average group should have fit into one tenth. The first and second parts of the qualification turned out to be almost the same due to the minimal gaps.

      I am very happy that I had a good qualifying session and drove clean laps. There were constant gusts of wind during the session – it's easy to make mistakes in such conditions, but I drove steadily, which in itself is not easy on this track. It's easy to overdo things in Shanghai, and the tires are very sensitive. I think I've managed to find a good rhythm.

      We've adjusted the settings today, but there's still a lot to do. I'm happy to be in the final, but it's going to be a difficult race tomorrow."

      Carlos Sainz (15th): "The same problems were repeated in qualifying. As soon as I started attacking, I stopped feeling the car in some corners and couldn't improve the time. I tried to make the most of it, but the reality is that I couldn't do it, especially in the third sector. I know that I will find an approach to the car, but it is important to shorten the adaptation process as much as possible.

      We've made some serious adjustments before tomorrow's race. Hopefully, this will put us in better shape than we were this morning. Pelletizing rubber will be crucial again, so let's see what results we can achieve."