Carlos Sainz has been fined €25,000, for crossing the circuit without permission after crashing in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver was summoned to the stewards after qualifying for two separate incidents, one in Q1 and another in Q3.
Sainz went off the circuit at Turn 1 in the opening minutes of qualifying but failed to rejoin the Marina Bay Circuit correctly.
As a result, the 30-year-old was in breach of Article 12.2.1 i) of the International Sporting Code and
noncompliance with Race Director’s Event Note. For this, he was given a warning.
More seriously, the Spaniard crossed the circuit whilst it was live in Q3 and without permission after he crashed at the final corner. Sainz crashed just as he was about to start a hot lap.
Despite a red flag having been flown, not all of the running cars had yet returned to the pit lane when Sainz opted to cross the circuit.
Because of this, he was also in breach of Article 26.7 b) of the sporting regulations for
crossing the track without permission during qualifying.
Whilst he received a €25,000 fine for the second incident, half of it has been suspended for the remainder of the season on the condition there is no similar breach made by him this year.
The stewards' report read: "The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 55 (Carlos Sainz), the team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, and information from the marshals.
"After crashing during Q3 which caused a red flag, Carlos Sainz crossed the track and then crossed the pit entry road. The Stewards examined video, questioned the marshals and heard from the driver that he crossed without first obtaining permission from a Marshal.
"The regulations are explicit that this is not permitted and is a potentially very dangerous situation. Further, this was reinforced by the Race Director in a previous drivers’ meeting. The Stewards accept that Sainz thought that the track was clear because he was after the pit entry and there was a red flag.
"However, there were still five cars circulating and it was possible that one may make a mistake and not enter the pit lane, or may have entered the pit lane faster than Sainz thought. Further, there were potentially other vehicles entering the track that the driver had no knowledge of.
"The Stewards compared this to other penalties that have been given recently, which were given when the track was in race conditions, but under safety car and consider that this is a somewhat less severe case, because of the red flag.
"Further, the driver’s idea that because he was beyond the pit entry is another mitigating circumstance. But in light of the explicit regulation reinforced in prior drivers’ meetings the Stewards order the fine which is lower than previous penalties and order half to be suspended for the remainder of the 2024 season, in light of the mitigating circumstances."
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!