'After such a difficult weekend, I thought it couldn't get worse... but here we are,' he quipped, turning the camera to show Sainz driving through a tunnel.
Mercedes's George Russell lapped the circuit in one minute, 18.518 seconds to win the Australian Open F1 Grand Prix qualifying.
The 410km stage from Wadi Ad Dawasir to the overnight bivouac, first half of a marathon stage, was won by 21-year-old Polish non-factory Toyota driver Eryk Goczal.
Al-Attiyah retains overall lead; Sixth-placed Sebastien Loeb, the nine-times world rally champion driving for Dacia, remained in contention and was within 17 minutes of his leading teammate.
Lando Norris can be crowned champion on Sunday but a win for Oscar Piastri would take the battle down to a final showdown in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
Carlos Sainz completed a double race distance for previously struggling Williams and pushed his Ferrari successor Lewis Hamilton off the top of the testing
Verstappen wins in Qatar to ensure three-way title showdown
Oscar Piastri led McLaren teammate and Formula One title rival Lando Norris at the top of the timesheets in sole practice for the Qatar Grand Prix on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton hopes Ferrari can repeat last year's Mexican Grand Prix triumph this weekend.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri ended a long win drought with a pole-to-flag victory in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race in Doha.
Piastri now leads Britain's Norris by 14 points with five rounds and two sprints remaining, while Verstappen has slashed his gap to the Australian to 40 after being 104 behind at the end of August.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday but McLaren's Lando Norris had one hand on the Formula One title after finishing second and stretching his lead over teammate Oscar Piastri to 30 points.
The two McLaren drivers were ruled out for excessive skid plank wear hours after the race had ended and the podium champagne been sprayed.
McLaren's Lando Norris won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix to surge 24 points clear in the Formula One championship on Sunday.
The win was a first for Ferrari in Mexico since 1990 and fourth of Carlos Sainz's career.
Norris had shown his pace in final practice when he became the third different driver to top the timesheets in the three sessions, punching out an impressive lap 0.345 faster than anyone else.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen secured a dominant win from pole position in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, leading the race from start to finish.
With eight points on offer to the winner of Saturday's 100km race, he and Norris -- 22 points behind Piastri -- both have a good chance to reduce the gap to the Australian who was three tenths slower than his teammate.
Norris last led the standings in April, a gap of 189 days, and had not won a race since Hungary in early August. Sunday was his sixth victory of the season, one less than Piastri, and career 10th.
Max Verstappen seized pole position for Sunday's US Grand Prix while Formula One leader Oscar Piastri qualified sixth after a costly sprint race collision with his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement of the Formula One season on Sunday after a collision with Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap of Red Bull's home Austrian Grand Prix.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in a triumphant return two weeks after appendicitis surgery as Red Bull's World champion Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement in two years.
Oscar Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix to take a mighty 34 point lead in the Formula One championship on Sunday as McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris saw his hopes go up in smoke.
Carlos Sainz lapped Monza's "Temple of Speed" with a fastest time of one minute 20.294 seconds, 0.013 quicker than Max Verstappen's final flying lap.
Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen will join the Australian on the front row.
Lando Norris won the Austrian Grand Prix and revived his Formula One title bid after fending off championship-leading McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri under race-long pressure on Sunday.
Verstappen starts new Red Bull era with Spa sprint win
Russell fastest in first Austrian GP practice as Dunne shines
Verstappen is third overall in the standings, 61 points behind Piastri who leads Norris by 15, and chasing his third win of the campaign to make up for retirement in Austria last weekend.
Leclerc brought out the red flags when he hit the wall at the second chicane with 45 minutes remaining, causing extensive damage to his Ferrari.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday to end Formula One leader Max Verstappen's record run of 10 wins in a row.
Norwich City winger Borja Sainz has been suspended for six matches and fined 12,000 pounds ($14,749) for spitting at an opponent.
George Russell put his Mercedes on pole position in Canada for the second year in a row on Saturday with Red Bull rival Max Verstappen alongside on the front row.
Australian Piastri, winner of four of the last five races, lapped the Imola circuit with a fastest time of one minute 16.545 seconds on the softest tyre compound with Norris 0.032 slower on a sunny afternoon.
Verstappen's hopes of a record-extending 11th successive victory looked a long shot on a city circuit where overtaking is never easy.
Formula One leader Oscar Piastri put his McLaren on pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Saturday
George Russell took Mercedes' first win of the Formula One season in Canada on Sunday while McLaren's Oscar Piastri went 22 points clear in the championship after teammate Lando Norris smashed into him and retired.
Lando Norris celebrated his first Monaco Grand Prix win from pole position on Sunday.
Max Verstappen celebrated Red Bull's 400th Formula One race with a fourth win in a row at Imola on Sunday.
World champion Max Verstappen put Red Bull on pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in dramatic style on Saturday.
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