Carlos Sainz found himself under scrutiny from the stewards after Saturday’s dramatic qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver, having crashed out at the last corner in Q3, exited his stricken car and walked across a live track, a move that was frowned upon by the marina Bay stewards.
Furthermore, it was alleged that the Spaniard was also under scrutiny for rejoining the track incorrectly at Turn 2 in Q1.
With just over eight minutes remaining in the session, Sainz lost control of his Ferrari and slammed backwards into the barriers at the final corner.
Although unhurt, he was forced to abandon his car, and with the session subsequently red-flagged, Sainz decided to walk across the track to reach the pitlane entrance.
While vehicles were being deployed to repair the damage and recover his car, Sainz made his way back to the pits, an action that goes against the regulations concerning track safety according to Article 26.7 b) of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, and which could entail a hefty fine or even a grid penalty.
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Reflecting on the crash, a candid Sainz acknowledged that it had been his own error that led to the incident.
“I had a bit of a strange exit in there,” he said. “Had to let a lot of cars through opening my lap and my tyres were just a lot colder than I thought they would be. I misjudged the grip going on the bump on 17, and it completely snapped on me. Driver mistake.
“I underestimated the grip I would get launching the lap—I was already under pressure with another car coming, and I knew that launching the lap I was already going to be slower because of the… approaching the last corner so slow.
“So it meant that I, yeah, tried to do something that there was not enough grip to do.”
The incident comes on the back of a tumultuous week for Sainz, who was also involved in a crash on the penultimate lap of last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
Despite the crash in Singapore, Sainz managed to secure a place in the top ten, qualifying in 10th position. However, this result could be in jeopardy pending the outcome of the investigation, while Ferrari will also need to conduct a comprehensive review of the damage suffered by the Spaniard’s SF-21.
The rear end of the Scuderia’s contender bore the brunt of the heavy contact with the TecPro barrier, which might entail a gearbox change and a subsequent grid penalty, if not a pitlane start should Ferrari opt to pull Sainz’s car out of parc fermé.
Update:
Sainz was handed a €25,000 fine for transgressing the FIA’s sporting regulations, but the stewards conceded that there were mitigating circumstances surrounding the Ferrari driver’s misdemeanor.
“The driver is fined €25,000, €12,500 of which is suspended for the remainder of the 2024 season on condition that there is no further breach of a similar nature,” noted the stewards’ report.
“The Stewards compared this to other penalties that have been given recently, which were given when the track was in race conditions, but under safety car and consider that this is a somewhat less severe case, because of the red flag.
“Further, the driver’s idea that because he was beyond the pit entry is another mitigating circumstance.
“But in light of the explicit regulation reinforced in prior drivers’ meetings the Stewards order the fine which is lower than previous penalties and order half to be suspended for the remainder of the 2024 season, in light of the mitigating circumstances”
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