P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Carlos Sainz was involved in a qualifying crash in China on Saturday and was able to continue despite confusion over the regulations. RacingNews365 explains why he was allowed to do so.
Carlos Sainz ended qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix in seventh place but was lucky to be involved in Q3 at all after a sizeable mistake in the previous segment. The Spaniard ran wide out of the final corner and dipped his wheels into the gravel, resulting in a high-speed spin and contact with the wall. Sainz came to a halt on the circuit after hitting the barrier, causing race control to deploy a red flag. However, Sainz’s car did not suffer terminal damage in the incident and he managed to return to the pit lane for repairs before completing the session. The incident sparked debate online over whether Sainz was allowed to return under the regulations, with confusion arising from a new rule in the junior series this year. While F1’s regulations state that a driver whose car stops during qualifying cannot continue, the situation with Sainz’s crash in Shanghai did not fit this directly. Sainz was able to steer his car back to the garage, attributing a last-minute steering input for avoiding a worse outcome.”
