Carlos Sainz will face no further action from Formula 1 stewards after impeding Alex Albon in Free Practice 3 for the Canadian Grand Prix. In a wet final practice in Montreal, Albon complained that Sainz's Ferrari had impeded him at the final Turn 13 chicane, with visibility low. Sainz would later crash out of the session at Turn 1, but Ferrari have fixed the SF-23 and he will participate as normal in Qualifying. Reaching their verdict, the stewards explained that the presence of Max Verstappen in front of Sainz was reason enough to not hit the Ferrari driver with a penalty.
Why Sainz was not penalised
In their decision, the stewards found that the conditions "resulted in significant visibility problems for the drivers between Turns 12 and 13." Sainz presented his case as having to "back off significantly because of the presence in front of him, of Car 1 (Verstappen)" while being aware of the approaching Albon. Article 35.7 of the sporting regulations states that drivers should not "unnecessarily impede another driver." "In this case both parties and the Stewards believe that this was not a case of unnecessarily impeding and that the driver of Car 55 (Sainz) acted in the manner he did in order to, in his view, avoid the car in front (Verstappen) and the approaching car from behind (Albon)." Both Sainz and Albon also raised the problem of cars backing up into Turn 13, "strongly" suggesting that, in the wet conditions, this being done at Turn 10 - the hairpin. The stewards simply stated that: "Drivers are reminded of their responsibilities under Article 33.4 of the Sporting Regulations."
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