Williams punished by FIA for strange Carlos Sainz mistake

Williams has been fined €5,000 for releasing Carlos Sainz onto the track in an unsafe manner during the final part of qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Spanish driver ultimately went seventh-fastest at the Lusail International Circuit, but triggered a red flag before the final push laps in Q3, having dragged plastic, which turned out to be a floor sticker, out of the pit lane that had been wrapped around the rear tyres of his FW47.

Whilst he was not handed a sporting penalty for the incident, the Grove-based squad was punished for the error.

"The team advised that it had been using this floor sticker since mid-season and had not previously experienced any problems with it peeling off the floor," the official decision document explained.

"However, ultimately, the team is responsible for ensuring that the car is not released in an unsafe condition, and video evidence showed that the driver had great difficulty in controlling the car; thus, the stewards determine that this was an unsafe situation."

Alex Albon, in the sister car, was also being investigated by the stewards for a pit lane infringement at the start of qualifying.

But the officials have decided no further action is required for that incident. The Thai driver qualified P15.