Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz suggested a solution to minimise on track incidents like the one at the Brazil GP.
Carlos Sainz says an increase in the number of gravel traps on the tracks would help escape on track incidents like those in the Brazil GP.
In the last weekend’s race, Lewis Hamilton cruised through the track after starting 10th on the grid. But the title rival, Max Verstappen ran his Red Bull wide, taking both himself and the seven-time world champion off the track, trying to defend his position in the race.
However, the British racing driver managed to overtake the Red Bull driver and secure a victory that puts him right back in the title fight with the Dutchman.
After the incident, the stewards decided that no investigation into the incident was necessary. Although Mercedes has now requested a review from F1 Race Control.
Carlos Sainz believes there is an easy solution that will prevent drivers from wilfully running wide. Gravel traps are used at circuits such as Silverstone, Imola and Monza to slow down and stop cars that exit the track.
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Carlos Sainz suggests old school circuits
Earlier the circuits made extensive use of gravel, but newer and renovated tracks have often sought to replace them with tarmac run-off areas that allow drivers to carry on pressing their foot to the accelerator.
Sainz said, “I personally think that this issue would be solved with a gravel trap on the exit of Turn 4.
I think you also saw at the start a few cars – including ourselves – going wide in Turn 4. If there had been a gravel trap, we wouldn’t have gone there.”
“And instead of actually it being an issue for the stewards, if you put a gravel trap there, it wouldn’t be an issue for the stewards, for Michael [Masi, FIA race director], for Lewis, for Max or for us,” the 27-year-old Spaniard added.
“We keep asking for gravel traps and we hope [for] that in the future, especially at a track like Sao Paulo where MotoGP is not running, because we would never brake so late into Turn 4.”
Sainz currently sits seventh in the drivers’ standings, 8.5 points behind Monégasque teammate Charles Leclerc. Verstappen leads the championship by 14 points, but a resurgence in Mercedes’ straight-line speed means the battle is wide open with three races remaining.
