Sainz receives hefty penalty for red flag incident

Having been involved in a high-speed crash in the dying phases of the qualifying session at the Singapore Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz has been handed a hefty fine for crossing the track after his incident.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz looked fairly competitive during qualifying, and was in contention for a top place. However, he made a mistake on the warm-up lap for his penultimate flying tour, applying too much throttle into the last turn.

As a result of his aggressive throttle application, he lost the rear end of his Ferrari and crashed into the barriers at Turn 19, with his incident bringing out the red flag.

After his crash, Sainz walked across the track to return to the pit lane, with Fernando Alonso‘s Aston Martin passing close by as the Ferrari man headed back to the pits.

The Spaniard was summoned to the stewards because of an “alleged breach of Article 26.7 b) of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations for crossing the track without permission during qualifying.”

The stewards later confirmed that Sainz has received a €25,000 fine, €12,500 of which has been “suspended for the remainder of the 2024 season on condition that there is no further breach of a similar nature.”

The FIA noted: “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 circumstance.”