Carlos Sainz has been reprimanded by the stewards for alleged dangerous driving after retiring from the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Sainz crashed out midway through the race and was reprimanded for creating a “potentially dangerous situation”, by attempting to move his car after marshals had started the recovery process.
Carlos Sainz reprimanded for dangerous driving in Brazilian Grand Prix
He crashed on lap 40 in the middle sector to bring out the Safety Car, but as marshals approached his Ferrari with a recovery vehicle, he attempted to drive away before his car came to a final stop for the afternoon at a dramatic wet race.
This created an “avoidable” and “potentially dangerous” situation, according to the governing body, for which the Ferrari driver has been reprimanded.
“The driver crashed on his own. The marshals were quickly on the scene to recover the car. The driver removed the steering wheel indicating to the marshals that he was abandoning the car,” read the FIA’s verdict.
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“The team then informed the driver that they thought the car was safe to continue. The driver replaced the steering wheel while the marshals had started to feed the recovery loop through the roll hoop of the car.
“The driver admitted that he was not aware that the marshals had commenced the recovery procedure.
“The marshals recognizing that the driver was going to attempt to restart aborted the recovery attempt just as the driver drove the car away.
“The driver admitted that he did not know that the marshals had started the recovery procedure and accepted that removing the steering wheel was a clear indication of his intention to abandon the car.
“A potentially dangerous situation was created that was avoidable by the driver solely.”
Sainz admitted he would look to put this weekend behind him quickly however, writing on social media after the race: “Definitely a Sunday to forget.
“Sorry to the team and for the extra work. I’ve struggled with this car in the wet this year, and today I just didn’t have the right feeling either. We will turn the page and reset everything for Las Vegas.”
This summons for Sainz adds to what was a busy afternoon for the FIA stewards, with Nico Hulkenberg having been black-flagged for receiving assistance from the marshals following a spin.
This disqualification was the first black flag shown in a race since the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, when Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella were black-flagged for leaving the pit lane under a red light.
Multiple investigations were still ongoing after the chequered flag at Interlagos on Sunday, with Mercedes fined €10,000 for a procedural breach relating to tyre pressures on both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s cars, and four drivers – Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson and Russell – were under investigation for leaving the grid under yellow lights after the initial start was aborted, after Lance Stroll was left beached in the gravel on the first formation lap.
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