Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsToro Rosso

Sainz given permission to start Russian Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz has been given permission to start the Russian Grand Prix by the FIA despite not having taken part in qualifying.

The Toro Rosso driver suffered a heavy crash during FP3 which ended the session after 35 minutes. While it took some time to remove him from the car due to the tecpro barrier being on top of the Toro Rosso, Sainz was conscious after the accident but was airlifted to hospital for scans.

Sainz to spend night in hospital, scans show no injuries

While the scans showed Sainz to have no injuries, he will be kept in hospital overnight as a precaution. However, the stewards have given permission for the Spaniard to start the race despite not taking part in qualifying.

While Toro Rosso is allowed to enter the car, Sainz will still have to be cleared to race by the FIA doctor on Sunday before he will be allowed to take the start.

Rosberg beats Hamilton to Sochi pole

AS IT HAPPENED: Russian Grand Prix qualifying

Gallery: Carlos Sainz's crash in FP3

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.