Max Verstappen’s crash in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring has led to much debate over whether a rule change is needed.
Carlos Sainz has proposed a radical Formula 1 rule change following the Austrian Grand Prix, particularly in relation to what followed Max Verstappen’s crash in qualifying.
The Dutchman crashed at the penultimate corner on his final lap in Q3, with single-waved yellow flags being shown in response.
According to the F1 rule book, a driver only needs to lift when passing through a single-waved yellow-flag zone, something George Russell did on a lap that proved good enough for pole position.
It led to several drivers highlighting that a double-waved yellow flag should have been shown, with Sainz believing that even a red flag would have been appropriate.
Sainz agrees that, based on the flag that was shown, Russell followed the rules perfectly, but he believes an incident of Verstappen’s nature should not be treated with a single-waved yellow flag.
He is eager to raise the issue of qualifying in Austria at the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, but he also wants to propose an idea.
The Williams driver wants to see a rule introduced whereby a three-place grid drop is awarded to any driver who triggers a yellow or red flag in qualifying, something that impacts the grid positions of others and potentially strengthens their own.
“I have a very personal idea about this that hasn’t been discussed among the GPDA yet, which I will potentially bring forward, and then we can maybe discuss whether it should be the case or not,” Sainz told select media, including RacingNews365. “I think this weekend, because it’s a sprint weekend, maybe we won’t have a proper meeting about it, but I think we should, because it’s clear to me, at least, that the situation should have been a double yellow or a red.
The way George handled it, I think, was perfect for what the rule book allows you to do, and he deserved that pole position because he played the rules to perfection. But I don’t think it should ever have been allowed to finish that lap, or to complete a lap in that kind of dangerous situation.
“At the same time, if Max had been on pole after the first runs and then produced that crash, and there was a red flag and no one improved their lap, I think it would be unfair on George, Kimi and everyone else because the guy on pole would effectively be preventing us from improving our lap times.
“Take Monaco, for example, or Baku last year, when I was on pole and was the first car out of the pits. I thought, ‘If I crash now, I’m on pole.’ So, we all have these thoughts and these second thoughts, and we all know how the rule book works.
“For that reason, I think anyone who generates a yellow flag or a red flag in qualifying should receive a three-place grid drop. At least then you get penalised for it and are disincentivised from going flat out into something.