Carlos Sainz caused a disturbance in the second qualifying session when he went off track and spun, making contact with the tire wall at the final corner. However, after a brief pause of one minute and 17 seconds, he returned to the pits to change tires and a new front wing. Once the track was reopened, he resumed qualifying and secured seventh place on the starting grid.
Aston Martin, with Fernando Alonso qualifying in third place for Sunday’s race, lodged a protest regarding an alleged violation of article 39.6 in the Formula 1 sporting regulations. Lance Stroll, Alonso’s teammate, would have qualified in the top ten if Sainz had not continued.
The article stipulates that “any driver whose car stops on the track during the qualifying session or the quick qualifying session shall not be allowed to continue participating in that session.”
The FIA stewards determined that the usual practice was to allow a car to restart and continue as long as the driver did not receive any external assistance. “It is clear that, according to the explicit wording of Art. 39.6, if a car ‘stops’ on the track during a qualifying session, that car should not be allowed to continue participating in the session.
“However, it became evident from the examples provided by several team principals and by the FIA that this rule was not consistently applied by teams and the FIA in the past.
“The FIA team clarified that, as long as the car was able to restart and continue from a standstill position within a reasonable timeframe, it would generally be allowed.”
The Formula 1 stewards stated that the typical allowed time limit would be 30 seconds and added: “In the absence of clear guidance in the regulations or established practice on when a delay becomes excessive, we believe that Race Control is best placed to exercise discretion.”
They cited cases from previous races in Canada, Monaco, and Azerbaijan, where cars were reported as ‘stopped’, but were later allowed to continue without objection. (Reported by Alan Baldwin)
Carlos Sainz appeared to have been eliminated from qualifying after colliding with the barriers…
However, he and the Ferrari mechanics had different plans 💪
Aston Martin lodged a formal complaint with the stewards after the incident, as Carlos managed to get back on track after a red flag.
