P1racenews AI automatic summary:
FIA dismisses Aston Martin protest over China F1 qualifying
Aston Martin filed a protest following Carlos Sainz’s off-track incident in Q2. Despite stopping due to a crash, Sainz managed to continue and secure a place in Q3, eliminating Lance Stroll. The F1 sporting regulation Article 39.6 was at the center of the dispute, relating to cars stopping during qualifying sessions. The stewards dismissed Aston’s protest, citing past examples and interpreting the rule’s ambiguity. The discussion on what constitutes a stop and the lack of a clear time limit led to leaving it to race control’s discretion. Despite the controversy, the stewards upheld the discretion exercised by race control based on past practices and the lack of consensus on the rule’s interpretation.
