F1 star cops BIG fine after controversial Zandvoort incident

Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Spain, Spanish GP — Photo: © LAT Images

Dutch Grand Prix

F1 star cops BIG fine after controversial Zandvoort incident

Sainz has been fined €5000 for a potentially dangerous manoeuvre

Luis Raya

Sunday 27 August 2023 08:27

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Carlos Sainz has been hit with a €5,000 fine by Dutch Grand Prix stewards after making a 'potentially dangerous manoeuvre in qualifying.

The qualifying session, held in challenging conditions, was marked by numerous incidents, and both the marshals and stewards had a demanding session ahead.

The marshals fined Sainz for his move involving Oscar Piastri during Q1. The Ferrari driver was exiting the pits and immediately moved onto the racing line before Turn 2.

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Piastri had to take evasive action to avoid a collision with Sainz, going off track slightly and briefly touching the grass.

Valtteri Bottas, who was exiting the pits just ahead of Sainz, was warned about Piastri approaching, while the Spanish driver was only cautioned not to cross the white line at the pit exit, but he wasn't informed about the presence of the Australian until he was alongside.

Sainz explained later that he briefly spotted Piastri at Turn 1 while he was on a slow lap, but then lost sight of him, and he quickly rejoined the drying racing line. While the stewards understood his explanation, they deemed that his swift movement caused the hazardous situation and also penalised Ferrari for contributing to the situation.

Sainz finished in 6th position at the end of the qualifying session

Tsunoda received a three-grid-place penalty

While Sainz was only penalised with a fine, Yuki Tsunoda received a three-place grid penalty for obstructing Lewis Hamilton in Q2. As a result, the British driver couldn't make it to Q3 and will start from the 13th position.

The stewards noted that "Tsunoda was on the drying racing line at the exit of Turn 13, getting ready to start his fast lap and hadn't reached top speed in that section, thus obstructing Hamilton."

Tsunoda explained that he had been overtaken by another car and decided to slow down to regain distance, but the stewards believe that the Japanese driver could have stayed off the racing line and avoided impeding.