The Chinese GP qualifying was not short of action as Carlos Sainz had a major moment in Q2. The Spaniard dipped a wheel in the gravel on the exit of the final corner, causing his SF-24 to spin around. Sainz, however, avoided a major crash by counter-steering and keeping his car away from the barriers. However, because his car suffered front wing damage and came to a stop facing in the wrong direction, many thought that Race Control wouldn’t allow him to participate for the rest of the qualifying. Sainz though managed to keep going and eventually finished P7 in Q3. Now, Aston Martin have protested this decision to let the #55 driver continue, citing that it is a breach of the rules.
F1 journalist Chris Medland confirmed this protest from the Silverstone team on Twitter (now X). He cited that Aston Martin is protesting based on:
“Alleged breach of Article 39.6 of the Sporting Regulations which states: “Any driver whose car stops on the track during the qualifying session or the sprint shootout will not be permitted to take any further part in that session.”
Medland also updated that the stewards have summoned the concerned parties at 18:00 local time in Shanghai. He opined that the outcome of this protest will depend on “what the stewards deem as “stops on the track”.
Sainz showed incredible control to keep his car out of the barriers and got going again. So, Medland is not sure if the ‘stopping on track’ rule applies in this particular case.
However, if the stewards rule in Aston Martin‘s favor, it could lead to a grid penalty or an overall disqualification for the Spaniard. As things stand, Aston Martin’s protest doesn’t seem to have significant ground for Sainz to lose his P7 result. It seems like an attempt to promote Lance Stroll into the top 10, after the Canadian qualified P11.
Fernando Alonso led Aston Martin’s hopes once again at the Chinese GP
While Lance Stroll could not make it into the top 10, Fernando Alonso kept putting the AMR24 into places it should not be qualifying, at least on paper. The two-time champion continued his heroics from Friday’s sprint shootout to put his car in P3 for the Chinese GP.
In fact, Alonso was mighty quick in the latter stages of Q2 and Q3. Despite no rain to help like during the sprint shootout, the Spaniard showed his class to go P2 briefly, ahead of the Ferraris and the McLarens. However, as Sergio Perez finished his final Q3 run, the #14 driver had to settle for a P3 starting position for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Alonso will be right behind the Red Bull duo of Perez and Max Verstappen, trying to get his first podium of 2024. However, he knows that his race will entail a defensive battle to hold off the McLaren and Ferrari cars who have shown better race pace than Aston Martin so far this season.
The outcome of this protest against Sainz will certainly not impact Alonso’s grid slot. However, it could mean there is one less driver who may charge from behind for the remaining podium position in P3.
The 42-year-old cited after qualifying that he would be happy even if he finished P7 or P8 on Sunday, knowing the race pace of both the Ferraris and the McLarens.
