Carlos Sainz highlighted that "dreaming is for free" after securing a staggering third-place on the grid for Williams in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The Spaniard struggled in damp conditions during final practice but changes to his car before qualifying made a crucial difference.
Sainz looked fast across each part of qualifying and often moved to the top of the timesheets, in the end falling just three-tenths shy of pole position in Sin City.
Unfortunately, Sainz was placed under investigation for allegedly rejoining the circuit unsafely during Q1; however, the stewards decided to take no further action.
Regardless, he demonstrated excellent pace in tricky conditions, especially after an uncompetitive FP3 showing.
Asked if he fancied his chances in the wet conditions, Sainz said: "I mean, I'm always optimistic. I always, you know, dreaming is for free, and I always try and think about myself doing well.
"This track, maybe it suited our car in the dry. In the wet in FP3, we didn't look very promising, but we did a few changes to the car that I think helped in the wet.
"That allowed me to go from the first lap of Q1 every time I was finishing a lap, I was P1, P1, P1. On the second wet tyre I was really, really quick.
"On the intermediates, I knew the others maybe would catch up a bit, but yeah, happy with P3."
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