Carlos Sainz received good news before the qualifying session of the Belgian Grand Prix in Formula 1. The Williams driver was cleared by the FIA stewards after the incident involving Max Verstappen during TL3 at Spa-Francorchamps.
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The Spaniard was under investigation for an alleged infraction under double yellow flag conditions. The episode occurred after Lewis Hamilton’s crash at turn 13, which scattered debris and gravel on the track and required the sector to be neutralized.
The situation drew attention when Sainz nearly hit the rear of Verstappen’s car. The Dutchman described the moment as ‘unbelievable’, leading both drivers to be summoned to provide explanations to the stewards.
After reviewing images, telemetry data, team radio, and onboard videos from both cars, the race direction concluded that the Williams driver acted within the regulations. The understanding was that he slowed down appropriately upon entering the double yellow flag zone.
According to the official report, Verstappen braked more intensely than Sainz expected, surprising the Spaniard. As a result, the Spaniard had to steer to the right and locked his wheels, but without overtaking the opponent at any point.
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“Both drivers stated they were surprised, the driver of car 3 by the rapid approach of car 55 after starting to brake, and the driver of car 55 by the intensity of car 3’s braking,” the stewards recorded in their statement.
This document also highlighted that both began braking approximately 80 meters before the start of the sector affected by the yellow flags. Furthermore, it was found that Sainz maintained a significantly reduced speed throughout the entire length of the flagged area.
With this, the stewards understood that there was no rule violation: “The stewards were satisfied to conclude that the driver of car 55 committed no infraction. The wheel lock-up was attributed to a misunderstanding regarding the relative braking between the cars, and it was decided not to take any further action,” the statement concludes.
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