Sainz "calm" after discovering wind gust caused Hungarian GP qualifying crash
A gust of wind sent Ferrari Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr off the road in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying, consigning the Spaniard to 15th place on the grid.
Sainz lost control of his car at the final corner, hitting the barrier with the left-hand side of the car with a 22G impact.
Nevertheless, he tried to get going, but his front wing became dislodged under the front wheels.
He was unable to find reverse to back away and drive around the broken wing, so he had to abandon the car and drop out of qualifying in Q2.
He was so surprised by the sudden loss of control that he went back to the garage to review the data, where the role of the wind became apparent, a discovery that he admitted made him "more calm".
Sainz had been fourth fastest in FP3 on Sunday morning and repeated that performance in Q1, making the crash at the final corner of the lap even more disappointing.
"Yeah, very frustrating," he said. "And to be honest I'm also very surprised, it's not a mistake that I've done in a long time.
"I went straight away to the garage to see what had happened on the data, and what I could have done differently.
"After having a look at it, to be honest, I'm more calm about it, because I saw that I actually entered the corner 5km/h slower than in the previous run. But there's a 35-40km/h gust of tailwind compared to a 10km/h tailwind in Q1, and this probably just sent me on a massive overseer.
"Unfortunate, but at the same time, I don't want to use it as an excuse. I think I owe an apology to the team. But at the same time, it's not something that I'm going to dwell too much on, because I've seen the data, and it has left me a bit more calm about it."
Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21 crashes in qualifying
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Sainz acknowledged that the Ferrari is not usually a wind sensitive car.
"These cars are massively wind sensitive, as you can imagine. But I've driven [ones with] worse wind sensitivities. And that's why maybe it caught me by surprise a bit. It is what it is.
"I saw that I had entered the corner slower than in the previous run, I said, 'Okay, I didn't try anything crazy or anything stupid, and I just lost it.' It's how it goes sometimes, it's how motorsport works, and learn from it."
Sainz acknowledged that even if he had been able to get the car to the pits, his session was probably over due to the sheer scale of the impact.
"I couldn't find reverse. So maybe something to look into there. I mean, after 22G I'm suspecting I had to stay 20 minutes in the medical checks because it was a big hit.
"I'm suspecting that it was over. My spirit of never giving up this time didn't work!"
Sainz could still drop further down the grid from 15th should his team be obliged to change his gearbox. That could open up the possibility of a pitlane start and making set-up changes to make it easier to overtake.
Related video
Verstappen v Hamilton: Who was at fault?
Formula 1: Sprint Qualifying analysis
The F1 champion who became an Indy king in his second career
Emerson Fittipaldi’s decision to go racing with his brother led to him falling out of F1, but he bloomed again on the IndyCar scene. NIGEL ROEBUCK considers a career of two halves
Why Mercedes is pleased to be in the Hungary hunt at a 'Red Bull track'
Mercedes ended Friday practice at the Hungaroring with a clear gap to Red Bull thanks to Valtteri Bottas’s pace in topping FP2. But there are other reasons why the Black Arrows squad feels satisfied with its progress so far at a track many Formula 1 observers reckon favours Red Bull overall
How Red Bull endured its second car crash in two weeks
OPINION: Red Bull was justified to be upset that Lewis Hamilton survived his British GP clash with Max Verstappen and went on to win. But its attempts to lobby the FIA to reconsider the severity of Hamilton's in-race penalty were always likely to backfire, and have only succeeded in creating a PR disaster that will distract from its on-track efforts
The ‘screaming’ F1 engine future that may not be out of reach
OPINION: It wasn't just the Verstappen/Hamilton clash that had the Red Bull and Mercedes bosses at loggerheads at Silverstone, with the nature of Formula 1's 2025 engines also subject for disagreement. But hopes to have loud, emotive engines that are also environmentally friendly don't have to be opposed
The drivers that need to strike gold before F1's summer break
OPINION: Formula 1 is about to break up for summer 2021, with the title battles finely poised. But it’s not just the latest round of Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton that will be worth watching this weekend in Hungary, as plenty of drivers are eying big results to change the stories of their seasons so far
How Lotus F1 uncovered, then squandered its last ‘unfair advantage’
Cast in the mould of its founder Colin Chapman, Lotus was powerful and daring but flawed – as it proved through further soaring peaks and painful troughs into the 1980s. DAMIEN SMITH examines a game-changing era
The core problems Yas Marina’s long-awaited tweaks won't address
OPINION: Changes to the layout of Abu Dhabi’s circuit aim to reverse the trend of insipid Formula 1 races there - the promoter has even described one of the new corners as “iconic”. And that, argues STUART CODLING, is one of this venue’s abiding failings
How Ferrari offered Britain's next F1 prospect what Red Bull couldn't
Last year's Formula 2 runner-up Callum Ilott could be on his way to becoming the first Briton to contest a grand prix in an Alfa Romeo since Reg Parnell in 1950. But, says OLEG KARPOV, the Ferrari Driver Academy protege is having to temper his ambition at the moment – outwardly at least…
