Carlos Sainz finished the 2023 Monaco GP in third, but his race could have ended on the very first lap had the FIA’s rule book not bailed him out. After making contact with Oscar Piastri, the Spaniard suffered a puncture that dropped him to the last position, but owing to a crash between Sergio Perez and the two Haas cars, Sainz’s race was saved. However, according to F1 expert Tim Hauraney, the rules should not have favored the Ferrari driver.
Perez’s crash brought out the red flag, and Sainz was in P20 at that moment. He hobbled back to the pitlane, hoping to change his tires, and also retain his P3 starting position. And thankfully for him, both happened.
All 20 cars hadn’t crossed the first sector when the red flag came out. As per the rules, the race had to be restarted in the original order. This gave Sainz another chance, which Hauraney feels he didn’t deserve. On the Nailing the Apex Podcast, he said:
“It doesn’t make a ton of sense. You’re technically taking a driver who was essentially out of the race, and now all of a sudden you’re giving them back their position.”
Hauraney pointed out how four other cars were lost on the race’s opening lap. And those cars didn’t get to restart, although they crashed. According to him, Sainz should have started from the back of the grid as a result. But he isn’t the only one who feels the same.
Andrea Stella reveals how close Carlos Sainz’s weekend was to disaster
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella revealed that the FIA was very close to sending Sainz to the back of the grid. All 20 cars hadn’t crossed the first sector line by the time the red flag came out, but the margins were very small.
Had a very good first start,but Oscar and I touched and had a puncture. I returned to P3 due to the crash (thankfully everyone was OK).Then it was a matter of managing pace and not allowing Lando a gap to pit. P3 and very happy for Charles and the team
https://t.co/MYUDjmsXkK pic.twitter.com/OhR2TzzgWJ— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) May 26, 2024
Stella, like Hauraney, advocated for Sainz to start the race from P20 (P16 after the retirements) upon restart. However, as the host of the Nailing the Apex Podcast Adam Wylde stated, Stella had to do so, because it would have ensured a double podium finish for McLaren.
After the race restarted, Sainz didn’t make the same mistake as he did on his first attempt. He drove a clean and mature race to cap off a strong weekend for Ferrari.
