Sainz had to leave the Austrian GP due to a spectacular engine failure just as he was about to attack Max Verstappen to finish second.
The Spaniard stopped immediately on the approach track after the next corner, but the gradient at that point on the circuit caused his F1-75 to start rolling backwards when he hit the brakes.
That led to a tense moment in which Carlos Sainz was initially unable to extricate himself from the hell that soon spread, as his car spun out of control onto the track before a marshal was finally able to place a chock underneath and the Madrid native was able to skip.
Sainz said afterwards that the situation had to be analyzed and see if “we could have done something a little quicker” and the incident was something much discussed in the general opinion of F1.
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Such a stir was generated that the Red Bull Ring stewards had to publish a statement defending their management of the fire.
Sainz, speaking on Thursday at the Paul Ricard ahead of this weekend’s French Grand Prix, said: “I can understand why they wrote it, because I guess what I said after the race seemed like criticism to them.
“I did not intend it to be seen as a criticism at all. Because I am the first who always speaks very highly of the stewards and what heroes they are, and the way they offer to be in these types of situations and protect us” , assured. “I never wanted it to sound like a criticism of anyone.”
“I just wanted it to be analyzed and see how we can do better next time. Because it wasn’t a comfortable moment in the car. And it felt a bit chaotic at the time.
“So, yeah, the explanations didn’t come to me, I saw them through the media, which is something I may have to talk to the FIA about.”
The statement from the Austrian stewards included a line that “intervention is only allowed after race control instructions” following the incident at the 2014 Japanese GP that ultimately claimed the life of Jules Bianchi.
Regarding that, the Ferrari man said: “If that is the procedure, then it shows that we have to shorten the times of the procedures, which is what I am going to discuss with the FIA.”
“Because I’m sure everybody did the best they could at the time, and especially in the heat of the moment, it was a stupid joke.”
“But we just have to see how we can make it quicker so that next time, if a car is rolling backwards, we know how to react a bit quicker and that’s it.”
“It’s already forgotten and the goal is to see how we can do better next time.”
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