After a start in which he had to battle wheel to wheel with George Russell to maintain third position, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz seemed destined to finish first and second respectively after gaining the upper hand against Max Verstappen.
However, with just over 10 laps to go, the power unit of his Ferrari said enough is enough just as he was about to overtake the Dutch Red Bull driver, who had much worse pace and was practically doomed.
The engine failure was sudden and Sainz had to park his car in one of the loopholes of the Red Bull Ring circuit, since the rear of his car started to catch fire and the flames left him no room for maneuver to stop and get off in a matter of seconds.
This was the engine failure and fire of Sainz’s Ferrari in Austria
At the time of the incident, the Spanish driver, who had just won his first Formula 1 race at the British Grand Prix, lamented on the radio with a message of frustration: “No, no, no… the engine , the motor”.
With this abandonment, Sainz adds his fourth retirement of the 2022 F1 season, just when he seemed to be at his best, more attuned to the car and showing a speed that to date he had not managed to have at the wheel of the F1-75, something which obviously complicates his title chances, as his partner, and Max Verstappen , inevitably slip away.
Ferrari , for its part, also lose a large number of points that could have been vital in their fight with Red Bull for the drivers’ championship, as they lose an almost assured double due to a new reliability problem, which is beginning to be one of the biggest headaches for the Maranello team this season.
