Carlos Sainz faced losing out on his P3 starting spot in the Monaco Grand Prix, but was cleared of impeding Alex Albon during qualifying.
While his Ferrari team-mate put it on pole, Sainz managed a second row spot but was at risk of losing out having been summoned to see the stewards.
Carlos Sainz cleared of Monaco impeding
The officials wanted to question both him and Alex Albon regarding an alleged incident of impeding at Turn 15 in Q1. However, they ultimately decided not to pursue any further action. Sainz stated that he did not intentionally obstruct Albon, and Albon himself did not strongly believe he was impeded.
“The stewards heard from the driver of Car 55 ( Carlos Sainz), the driver of Car 23 (Alexander Albon), team representatives and reviewed video, team radio and in-car
video evidence and determined that Car 23 was on a push lap and caught Car 55 at the chicane at Turns 15/16,” the report from the stewards began.
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The team notified the driver of Car 55 about the approaching Car 23. In response, the driver of Car 55 swiftly tried to shift away from the racing line to make room for Car 23 at the exit of Turn 16. Unfortunately, due to the narrow and challenging nature of the chicane and the Monaco circuit, Car 23 was affected by the presence of Car 55 at the chicane.
In retrospect, the driver of Car 55 admitted that he could have potentially veered off the track, allowing Car 23 more space. However, he believed that he did not hinder Car 23 unnecessarily, as he made the required maneuvers on the track to provide ample room.
Car 23’s driver successfully finished his push lap, but he potentially lost a tenth and a half in terms of time, which had an impact on him. However, he expressed uncertainty regarding whether or not Car 55’s interference was unnecessary.
“He believed that this situation did not clearly constitute impeding. He acknowledged the challenging nature of that specific part of the circuit, consisting of blind corners, and recognized that Car 55 had no prior visibility of Car 23 approaching.”
Based on the information provided, we decided not to take any additional steps.
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