Carlos Sainz is at risk of losing his third-place grid position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as he was summoned to the Formula 1 stewards having allegedly rejoined the circuit unsafely ahead of Lance Stroll.
Sainz went off the road in Q1 at Turn 5 and was seen to return to the track ahead of Stroll. The stewards elected to investigate after the wet qualifying session at Las Vegas.
Although both drivers progressed through Q1, they enjoyed differing fortunes thereafter: Stroll’s gamble on the intermediate tyre during Q2 did not pay off and the Canadian could only finish the session 12th, while Sainz briefly held provisional pole before being pipped by Max Verstappen.
The two were then beaten by Lando Norris’ pole lap, pushing Sainz down to third place in the order.
The stewards flagged the incident in reference to an alleged breach of Article 33.3 in the F1 sporting regulations, which states that “should a car leave the track the driver may re-join, however, this may only be done when it is safe to do so and without gaining any lasting advantage.”
Carlos Sainz, Williams, Zak Brown, McLaren
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
Should Sainz be found to have transgressed that regulation, it is likely that this would be accompanied with a grid penalty.
Sainz’s team-mate Alex Albon looked set to join his team-mate as far as Q2, but his crash at the end of the opening phase of qualifying ensured that Sainz was the only Williams driver to progress beyond Q1.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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