With F1 set to take place in Monaco this weekend, qualifying comes out as arguably the most important session of all. At the same time, there are several factors that hinder qualifying for certain drivers on the track. And Carlos Sainz wants the FIA to keep an eye out for the same.
Often, yellow flags or red flags disrupt qualifying runs in the Principality. Because of the slow and tight nature of the circuit, ones who are on their flying laps get put at a disadvantage. Because of the latter, drivers sometimes resort to causing an incident deliberately after they have clocked in a strong lap.
Ahead of the session, Sainz said, (as quoted by formule.nl)
“We as drivers have seen enough cases where a red flag was deliberately created. The FIA may not be able to see when someone crashes on purpose, but we do know. I’m curious to see how they will deal with it this weekend“.
Although crashing the car on purpose points towards a lack of sportsmanship, Sainz’s admission that drivers have done it in the past shows that the stakes are too high for them to not exploit the rulebook. This was allegedly on display as little as two years ago.
During qualifying in 2022, Sergio Perez hit the wall coming out of the hairpin during his final Q3 run. Although he was third at the moment, he wanted to start the race ahead of his teammate Max Verstappen, who was in fourth. Multiple reports suggested that Perez crashed deliberately as a result.
Nico Rosberg too, attempted to pull off a similar move back in 2014. On that occasion, the German seemingly crashed to clinch the pole ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton.
To avoid a repeat of the aforementioned incidents, drivers do have a solution for the FIA to implement.
F1 drivers want FIA to delete lap times if someone crashes
Since crashing into the wall in Monaco can be so beneficial for drivers in qualifying, most suggest that the FIA should delete their lap times if a driver is found guilty of misusing this loophole.
In the past, George Russell pointed out how lap times are deleted because of track limits. Similarly, he wants to see drivers get penalized for crashing.
❤️ M O N A C O ❤️
What a place to go racing #F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/DOrowwyJx5
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 24, 2024
Verstappen agreed with Russell. He stated that the ones who crash during qualifying must be ready to face the “consequences“. Now, the ball is in the FIA’s court. Whether they want to adopt to such an approach, remains to be seen.
But one thing is for certain. Among drivers and teams in the paddock, there will be an outrage if someone loses out on a position because of a deliberate crash on another’s part.
