The Spaniard has proved the progress that his squad is making as he emerged from qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix in third position as Red Bull’s closest rival.
And although the characteristics of his AMR24 car, which appears better in single-lap pace than long runs, means he is not expecting to hold on to his place in the Shanghai race, he says it is a situation he and the team cannot be too unhappy about.
“I expect a difficult race,” he said. “We are slower than the Ferraris, slower than the McLarens and probably the Mercedes. We are outqualifying them often and then in the race we just need to wait and see when they come, how fast they come and how many laps we can defend those positions.
“It happened so far in the first four races, so I guess this fifth race is going to be no different. So yeah, I expect a race that is going to be difficult for us.
“But we can’t say sorry for being too fast in qualifying, so let's take it.”
Source: Autosport