Nico Rosberg warns ‘pressure is getting to Ferrari’ in hope for Mercedes and Red Bull | F1 | Sport

Nico Rosberg has warned the pressure of being in a race-winning car was getting the better of Carlos Sainz at Ferrari as the Spaniard had a horror day in Imola on Friday. He warned fighting for wins was the ‘ultimate pressure situation’ for drivers and warned the mental side of driving was getting the better of the youngster.

However, Rosberg warned Sainz had to ‘figure that out’ as soon as possible as team-mate Leclerc continues his dream start, Sainz crashed during the second part of the qualifying in yesterday’s action-packed session.

It means the Ferrari man will start today’s sprint race from tenth with Leclerc on the front row. It did appear Sainz had the pace to challenge for pole during Q1 making the incident even more upsetting.

His crash is the second accident for the Spaniard in as many weekends after Sainz crashed in the opening stages of the Australian Grand Prix. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Rosberg said: “I think we need to see the situation here is that maybe the pressure is getting to him a little bit.

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However, Rosberg warned Sainz had to ‘figure that out’ as soon as possible as team-mate Leclerc continues his dream start,

Sainz crashed during the second part of the qualifying in yesterday’s action-packed session.

It means the Ferrari man will start today’s sprint race from tenth with Leclerc on the front row.

It did appear Sainz had the pace to challenge for pole during Q1 making the incident even more upsetting.

Sainz finds himself third in the drivers’ standings, 38 points behind Leclerc after just three races. His crash in Australia allowed Mercedes’ George Russell to jump him in the standings after the former Williams man finished third in Melbourne.

After qualifying, Sainz said: “This is a very tough one to take and there is little to say other than sorry to the entire team and every fan out there. I wasn’t even pushing that hard, as we had more than enough pace to make it into Q3 comfortably.

“The car surprised me with a snap and I couldn’t stop it before hitting the wall. Thinking positively, the weekend is not over yet and I still have the Sprint race and the Grand Prix on Sunday to try to recover. It’s a difficult moment but now it’s time to focus on what is ahead.”