FIA provide judgement on Carlos Sainz over “potentially dangerous” incident

Carlos Sainz received a formal reprimand from the FIA stewards following the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver crashed out in Brazil on Lap 39.

He created a “potentially dangerous situation” by trying to drive while the marshals were nearby, recovering his car, the stewards ruled.

The FIA statement confirmed: “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.

“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 reacted on social media: “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.”