Sainz expects fast Verstappen and Perez: 'Red Bull are quick everywhere'

Carlos Sainz has left a good feeling from the first two free practice sessions. In terms of times, the practice sessions were not really representative of the rest of the weekend, but Sainz is satisfied that he was fast in the rain. After all, in Singapore he was not at all.

"Not ideal but at least the conditions were pretty consistent out there today when it was wet; that allows you to do a couple of tests that we never get to run in these conditions, so we managed to get a couple of tests done which are always interesting. I always run in the wet because I feel you can still learn something and you can always learn something from the car, from the driving, especially after a wet Singapore," Sainz told in conversation with Formula1.com.

The Madrileen was totally unable to keep up with the pace of Sergio Perez and teammate Charles Leclerc last week at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Sainz said immediately after the race that he did not understand how this could happen, saying he is always competitive in the rain. It was an extra reason for him to still try to get as many kilometres as possible on the first day of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend. Sainz was happy to see that he was fast and has got the rhythm again.

Benefit for Red Bull

So the feeling is good for Sainz, yet he thinks Red Bull Racing will have the advantage for the rest of this weekend. "I think Red Bull are quick everywhere: wet, dry, slow, fast circuits, straights, slow-speed [corners]. They are quick everywhere with the package they have now. But we are also very quick, so it will be a matter of who nails the weekend and who has that last tenth, two-tenths advantage over the others," said the one-time GP winner, who believes it will be decided on details.