The weekend of the Belgian Grand Prix of Formula 1 started off busy, with the FIA opening investigations during TL1 at Spa-Francorchamps. Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg were summoned by the stewards after separate incidents recorded in the first free practice session.
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These cases may have consequences for the rest of the weekend, depending on the stewards’ analysis. The occurrences involved a possible infraction at the pit entry and a suspected disregard of yellow flags.
The first incident happened shortly after the halfway point of TL1. Sainz seemed to be heading his car to the pits but crossed the white line at the entry before abruptly changing direction and returning to the track.
Over the radio, the Williams driver explained that the maneuver was motivated by a gearbox problem. After reviewing the footage, the stewards announced that the case will be investigated and summoned the Spaniard to provide clarifications.
Besides the official investigation, Sainz also had a tense moment with Kimi Antonelli during the session. The championship leader was doing a fast lap when he encountered the Williams car in sector 3, being forced to ease off the pace.
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Irritated, the Mercedes driver vented over the radio: “Sainz, what an idiot!”. Despite Antonelli’s complaint, the FIA did not open an investigation into this specific episode involving the two drivers.
Another name summoned was Nico Hulkenberg. The Audi driver will have to appear before the stewards to provide clarifications about a possible infraction committed during TL1.
According to race control, the German is being investigated for not reducing speed during a yellow flag period. Thus, the first practice of the Belgian GP ended with extra work for the stewards and the possibility of new decisions before the weekend’s next activities.
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