Sainz confused as 'black magic' leads to 'uncommon' crash

Carlos Sainz was confused by the "black magic" of F1 tyres following his big Singapore Grand Prix qualifying accident.

At the start of Q3, Sainz crashed heavily at Turn 19 after spinning off whilst preparing to open his lap, which turned Q3 into an effective one-lap shootout. 

Sainz was not the only driver to complain about getting the Pirelli tyres into the correct operating window throughout the session at Marina Bay, as the Ferrari driver, who was fined €25,000 (50% of which is suspended for the rest of 2024 if nothing similar happens), for crossing the track without permission following the shunt. 

Reflecting on the accident which destroyed the rear of his SF-24 machine, Sainz took responsibility as he broke down the chain of events that led to disaster.

"It was a bit of a strange accident, I had to let a lot of cars through opening my lap, and my tyres were a lot colder than I thought they would be," he told media including RacingNews365.

"I misjudged the grip on the bump of Turn 17, it completely snapped on me so it is a driver mistake. 

"I underestimated the grip I would get in the launch of the lap, and was under pressure with another car coming. 

"I knew that in the launch of the lap, I was already going to be slower because of approaching the last corner so slow, so it meant I tried to do something that there was not enough grip for.

"The car looks quite damaged, but once I get into a rhythm in the race, it should be okay, it is black magic with the tyres over one lap to get everything working. 

"The mistake was not common and not typical so it shows there must be something - there is a fine line between getting them to grip or not this weekend."

Sainz complained of brake issues with his machine after Friday practice, which he felt continued on into Saturday and hampered his confidence.

"It has been a big struggle for me this weekend, it is very strange how it can change from one year to another," said the 2023 pole-sitter and race-winner.

"To get the tyres in the window over one lap with our car is tricky, I've had a couple of decent laps over the weekend, but in general, it's been very consistent. 

"I had issues with the brakes, which didn't help my build-up, and here it is all about gaining confidence, executing with perfect laps, and I haven't had that this weekend."