China GP qualifying: Aston Martin protest dismissed / Formula 1

The point of contention was Article 39.6 of the Formula 1 sporting regulations, which states that a driver who stops on the track during qualifying or sprints is no longer allowed to participate in the session. It was clear to the Aston Martin team that this requirement was breached when Carlos Sainz lost control of his car coming out of the final corner of qualifying for the Chinese GP and crashed at the start of the straight.

On time tracking and in the FIA ​​system it was said that the Spaniard was standing on the track. However, Sainz returned to the pits under his own power, and after a little repair work he was able to return to the track after the inconvenience caused by his own departure. In the end he turned the seventh lap fast.

Aston Martin lodged a protest against the qualifying results, but scrutineers Nish Shetty, Loïc Bacquelaine, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Zheng Honghai refused. The justification for this is the fact that the law was interpreted in the past to allow the driver to rejoin the session if he was able to continue driving under his own authority and without assistance after a sufficient period of time.

Sainz was only able to return to the pits one minute and 17 seconds after leaving, but because the FIA ​​allowed participation in previous cases even with suspension times of different lengths and there are no clear guidelines on the length of the time out. participant can no longer participate allowed to return to the track, the management came to the conclusion that the protest should be rejected. This means that Sainz can take his seventh starting position.

The fact that the system talked about stopping on the way is not important as this corresponds to the common language, the validity also says. In this regard, too, there are cases where the driver who was considered suspended was able to rejoin the session.

Qualifying, China

01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:33,660 minutes
02. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:33.982
03. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, 1:34.148
04. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1:34.165
05. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:34.273
06. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:34,289
*07. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, 1:34.297
08. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:34,433
09. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, 1:34.604
10. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, 1:34.665
11. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:34,838
12. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Racing Bull, 1:34.934
13. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, 1:35,223
14. Alex Albon (T), Williams, 1:35,241
15. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, 1:35,463
16. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, 1:35,505
17. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1:35.516
18. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:35,573
19. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, 1:35,746
20. Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, 1:36,358