Sainz crashes to knock out Mercedes duo

Carlos Sainz crashed out of qualifying to the dismay of the Tifosi at Ferrari's home race at Imola.

The Scuderia dominated practice, setting up a potential pole showdown between Charles Leclerc and Sainz for the 100km sprint on Saturday, only for the Spanish driver to fail to read the script.

Sitting second in the session with rain on the way, Sainz - who was rewarded with a contract extension in the build-up to the weekend - lost the rear end under acceleration through the second Rivazza.

That resulted in him rotating 180 degrees and smacking into a barrier, heavily damaging the left-hand side of his F1-75.

Sainz had been second quickest at the time of his shunt but will now start 10th.

With rain arriving during the red-flag period, it ensured no driver could improve on their pre-incident time on soft tyres, knocking out George Russell and Lewis Hamilton who will start 11th and 13th.

It is the first time since the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix that neither Mercedes has made it into Q3, ending a streak of 187 consecutive races.

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