Aston Martin launch protest against Carlos Sainz’s Chinese GP Qualifying result over red-flag incident

Carlos Sainz ended his Chinese GP qualifying session in seventh place.

Aston Martin launch protest against Carlos Sainz’s Chinese GP Qualifying result over red-flag incident

Fernando Alonso and Carlos sainz (Via: Imago, X/commentando, screenshot)

During the Chinese GP qualifying session, Carlos Sainz dipped a wheel into the gravel coming up to turn 1 before starting his qualifying lap which caused him some minimal suspension and front-wing damage. The 29-year-old then went spinning and hit the wall sideways, after which he was stagnant on the track for a while.

But, after a few minutes, Carlos Sainz could finally get the engine back on with the help of the MGUK and got back to his pit box to repair the minimal damage and get going again. This saw the driver progress into Q3 and qualify seventh. Following this, the FIA has revealed that Aston Martin has launched a protest against the Spaniard and the Ferrari team.

YouTube video

Carlos Sainz’s crash during qualifying saw him stationary in his SF-24 for a few minutes before he could get back running.

FS Video

Any driver whose car stops on the track during the qualifying session or the sprint qualifying session shootout will not be permitted to take any further part in that session.

Via FIA’s post qualifying release

Aston Martin has launched the protest as according to them, the Spaniard was not following the Article 39.6 rule which prevents drivers from taking further part in qualifying if they’ve stopped on track during qualifying sessions. Only time will tell what the FIA’s decision will be regarding this protest from the Silverstone-based team.

Carlos Sainz reveals what led to his crash during the Chinese GP qualifying

While Aston Martin has launched a complaint against Carlos Sainz for his Shanghai qualifying antics, the Spaniard spoke in detail about his crash after the event. The sudden nature of the crash caught everyone off-guard. Even the commentators were perplexed seeing Sainz crashing into the barriers.

Carlos Sainz Feature
Carlos Sainz (Image via IMAGO)

After the race, Carlos Sainz revealed what led to his unusual crash.

I just did a simple mistake, hit the inside kerb a bit too hard, that threw me a bit off line, touched the gravel on the exit, clipped the gravel and spun. Then right in the last moment before hitting the wall I managed to turn the wheel a bit and crash in a better angle than what I was.

Carlos Sainz via Autosport.com

The driver shared how he was too strong on the throttle ahead of his crash and how it caused him to spin once he dipped a wheel into the gravel just before turn 1. After his recovery, Carlos Sainz ended up qualifying behind his teammate Charles Leclerc and thus, will definitely want to bounce back during tomorrow’s 53-lap Chinese GP.

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