Drivers who cause red or yellow flags to be raised during Formula 1 qualifying should face penalties, according to Carlos Sainz.
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The topic has been discussed for a while, but in recent days, it has come into sharper focus because of reports that Max Verstappen was upset with Sergio Perez in Brazil because of the Mexican’s crash in Monaco qualifying, which resulted in a red flag and ended the Dutchman’s chances of winning pole. Verstappen reportedly thinks Perez intentionally crashed, contrary to what has been claimed on the pit lane. After hitting the Red Bull, Sainz, the next driver to arrive when Perez stopped, was left with a damaged vehicle. Without commenting on whether it was intentional or not, Sainz responded to Motorsport.com’s inquiry about his thoughts on the incident: “I think it’s for real now that all drivers want some kind of rule that, if you generate a red flag or a yellow flag, even if it’s intentional or not, there should be something done to that driver because you’ve compromised the other nine on purpose, or maybe not.
“However, you ought to be punished for it. If not, we will all start tinkering with it. And I’ve observed a lot more experimentation with it in recent years than you might have even noticed in the media. When questioned about the significance of the event in Monaco, which actually caused damage to a second vehicle, Sainz responded, “I think all 20 drivers, when we analyse this kind of occurrences, we know instantly that whomever has done it on purpose or not, because we’re not stupid.
“But I’m not going to comment, it’s an incident of the past. I’m just going to say that if there would be a rule in then it wouldn’t even go through your head. “I think it would [reward] Q3 laps, because it means that in Q3, there’s a lot to win, but also something to lose. “So you need to put a really good lap together with no mistakes if you want to take a position.”
Read More – Here’s what Red Bull had to say about the Perez-Verstappen mix up in Brazil
When asked if he believed drivers intentionally interfering with qualifying was a common occurrence, he responded, “Not regularly, but it’s happened enough times that there should be some sort of rule for it.” Drivers haven’t discussed potential penalties, according to Sainz, but he believed that it was the best time to bring it up in the drivers’ meetings prior to the race. “It needs to be discussed, in my opinion. I believe we’ve brought it up a few times, but nothing has ever come of it. But I believe it should be completed for the following year. “However, I believe that if a yellow or red flag is raised during qualifying, either laps would be cancelled or you will lose three or five positions, which means the incentive to do so will be quickly lost.
Additionally, it makes us drivers behave properly and be committed to the lap while also possibly leaving a small amount on the table. “I suppose since Monaco, since the last race that something like this happened, we haven’t talked about it that much,” he continued. “I’m not sure if certain drivers would bring it up at the meeting tomorrow or not. Maybe. I’ll give it some thought.
