Sainz admits he has no explanation for FP1 crash
Carlos Sainz admitted he had no explanation for his accident in opening practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, but conceded it was his fault.
The Toro Rosso driver crashed heavily around 40 minutes into the session after losing control of his car exiting the hairpin, forcing a stoppage of several minutes while his car was recovered.
Despite the heavy damage, Sainz's car was ready for second practice, although he completed just one lap because of the poor track conditions.
"It was one of those accidents where you don't have an explanation," said Sainz. "It was a mistake from my side, for sure, and something I will obviously not like in the future to repeat.
"The mechanics fixed it in one and half, two hours. They did an amazing job because of that, and congratulations for that, it shows the commitment they have, and I really appreciate it."
The Spanish driver will start from the back of the grid after picking up a 20-place grid penalty after Toro Rosso introduced new Renault power unit elements.
"I knew a while ago, and I knew also my Saturday will be compromised because of that," Sainz said.
"I will have to try and save some tyres for the race, to have the fastest race possible, so tomorrow is a not a normal day for me in that regard, working on long run preparation, working towards the race, because it doesn't matter where I qualify, I will start last.
"So I will make sure I have all tyres available for Sunday. We haven't run a lot. P1 was tricky in terms of pace.
"I think we were pushing hard, but even if we were pushing hard, we were not very quick, so something to analyse for tomorrow, to see if we can find some pace. Anyway today it's very difficult to find conclusions."
Sainz said that the team had considered taking the penalty hit in Suzuka, but problems in the race in Malaysia made the change inevitable.
"We based it a bit on our last year's performance," he added. "We knew that Suzuka was probably our weakest track. Anyway we were forced to do it because of the issue we had in Malaysia.
"We realised that we didn't have any more parts to put in the car, so it was more or less forced, but anyway it was quite planned to take a penalty here, or a bit more forward. I'm pretty sure I will face some more penalties, unfortunately."
Share Or Save This Story
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
What the drivers are expecting from F1's return to Sepang
Sainz interview: “I always believed in McLaren… but then Ferrari called”
Arvid Lindblad issues apology after Racing Bulls team-mate clash in Baku
Liam Lawson: “I don’t understand” why Arvid Lindblad escaped penalty after wrecking my floor
How Arvid Lindblad has shown that he's found his feet in F1
The unselfish anchor behind Jack Aitken’s first IMSA GTP title, Earl Bamber reflects on 2026 campaign
How Hurricane Isaias may impact NASCAR's Charlotte race weekend
Why Red Bull's 'crazy' power unit success matters so much for F1
“Am I confident? Probably not” – The unprecedented challenge Singapore is throwing at F1 drivers
Why Red Bull's 'crazy' power unit success matters so much for F1
No denying it now – the one reason why F1’s ‘horrible’ start in Malaysia could be a good thing
The greatest F1 campaigns with no wins
Three kings: F1's generational stars shone at Sepang
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments