Sainz hits back at Gasly: ‘I got impeded seven times and I’m not shouting...'

During Q1, Gasly was blocked by the Spaniard into the final chicane, resulting in a livid radio message.

He said: “Should be banned for such a thing! I’m coming at 300!” Gasly said. “What the f*** of they think?!” 

It resulted in Gasly being knocked out in Q1 when he was comfortably on course to progress into the next season.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after qualifying, Sainz defended himself and revealed that he was impeded on several occasions, but unlike Gasly, didn’t ‘shout on the radio’.

“It was very tight with the flag; the flag was about to fall. I got impeded seven times today, and I’m not shouting on the radio at Turn 13,” he said,

“Other drivers choose to use the radio more than others. Today I was getting impeded many, many times. Let’s see what they do.”

“Some incidents are under investigation; others are not. It depends [on] how much you shout on the radio [and] how much you complain. So let’s see.”

Reflecting on the specific incident with Gasly, Sainz explained that it was impossible for him to get out of the way and that he had to think about his own qualifying session by crossing the start-finish line before the chequered flag.

Even so, Sainz was handed a three-place grid penalty by the stewards for Sunday’s race.

“I was stopped, and I had to let other cars go, and I couldn’t get out of the way. I did my best to get out of the way, and I tried to go,” he added.

“The flag was about to fall, and also, it was a bit of every man for himself. I had to go. If not, I would have missed my qualifying lap. 

“I was getting impeded at the time too.”