Renault has apologised to partner team Toro Rosso after Carlos Sainz retired from last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix with a technical problem.
The Spaniard had qualified a strong 10th at Spa-Francorchamps but his efforts in the race were immediately thwarted when he lost valuable time in the pits after reporting an issue on his Renault-powered STR10 before the start. Although he was able to head back out, Sainz retired the car with 11 laps left to save engine mileage.
“It was in part a difficult race,” said Toro Rosso’s Renault Sport F1 track support leader Cedrik Staudohar. “We suffered a loss of power on the formation lap with Carlos due to a loose connector in the engine”.
“Once it was fixed in the garage he could get going again, but as he was two laps down, the race was effectively over. We have to apologise to the team and ensure that this won't happen again.”
Renault’s comments echo Toro Rosso’s own apology, which was issued after Sainz was sidelined by a technical issue for the fourth consecutive grand prix. The reigning Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion commented after the race that he was “obviously very disappointed and desperate to finish a race”.
The 20-year-old is yet to score since last May’s Monaco Grand Prix and currently sits 16th in the 2015 Drivers’ standings with 9 points, six spots and 15 points adrift of team-mate Max Verstappen.
Click here for a lighter look at the Belgian Grand Prix, courtesy of F1i special contributor Eric Silbermann.
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