Carlos Sainz stated he had a fortunate escape after his automotive dramatically caught alight in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
As Charles Leclerc claimed his first win in three months to revive his hopes of difficult Max Verstappen for the world championship – with the Dutchman second and Lewis Hamilton third – his team-mate Sainz was thrown into grave hazard when a hearth broke out in the back of his conked-out Ferrari.
At the uphill fourth nook of Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring, Sainz was left battling gravity as his automotive rolled again in direction of the monitor.
Inside half a minute, Sainz’s automotive was engulfed in flames – and the TV director reduce away with the Spaniard desperately making an attempt to take away himself from his blazing machine.
But a handful of seconds later, the tv feed returned to the scene of the grisly accident, and Sainz was seen working away from his automotive earlier than sitting down on the grass verge together with his chargrilled Ferrari now extinguished.
A marshal put a wheel chock beneath Sainz’s front-right tyre, which aided him in escaping, however the 27-year-old, who gained final weekend’s British Grand Prix, believes assist might have arrived sooner than it did.
“It was not an ideal or an easy situation for sure, because I could see in my mirrors that my car was catching fire,” stated Sainz.
“I was pressing the brake, but as soon as I tried to jump out, I didn’t want to leave the car completely free, out of control, and rolling backwards.
“I was calling the marshals to come and help me, to put something on the tyres to stop the car from rolling. But the whole process was a bit slow and at some point there was so much fire that I had to get a move on and I had to jump out.
“It is definitely something we need to look at how we could have done it a bit faster, because it was not an easy situation to be in.”
Sainz’s retirement, with simply 14 of the 71 laps to run, allowed Hamilton to say his third podium in as many races with Mercedes team-mate George Russell fourth – regardless of an opening-lap collision with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. The Mexican was unable to proceed.
A travelling Dutch contingent of 60,000 followers turned the eleventh spherical of twenty-two into a house fixture for Verstappen.
And after he raced away from pole, in a plume of flare-generated orange smoke, it regarded as if their man would comply with up his dash triumph with one other win. However, Leclerc had different concepts.
By lap 10, the Monegasque, whose season has been derailed by mechanical failures and poor technique calls, was crawling throughout Verstappen’s Red Bull gearbox – and after two failed makes an attempt at Turns 3 and 4, the Ferrari driver made his transfer stick a few laps later with a cute transfer on the right-hand fourth nook.
Red Bull reacted instantly by bringing Verstappen in for a change of rubber.
Leclerc stopped on lap 26. He left the pits 6.7 seconds behind Verstappen, however moved again forward of his title rival for a second time simply six laps later.
On lap 50, Verstappen was again within the lead after Leclerc was known as in by Ferrari for his second cease. But three laps later, on the exit of Turn 3, Leclerc handed Verstappen for a 3rd and last time.
Leclerc complained a couple of caught throttle within the closing levels, however crossed the road 1.5secs forward of Verstappen, with Hamilton, who made up 5 positions from eighth, one other 40secs again.
Russell impressed to drive from nineteenth, after he stopped for repairs and was subjected to a five-second penalty following his coming along with Perez, to complete fourth.
Leclerc has lowered the championship deficit from 44 factors to 38.
The Ferrari driver stated: “I definitely needed that one. The last five races have been incredibly difficult for myself but also for the team.
“It has been hard race after hard race, and it just felt like everything was against me. So to finally show we have the pace in the car and that we can do it, is incredible.”
Leclerc, Verstappen and Hamilton had been later dealt a suspended a high-quality of £8,500 after their physios entered parc ferme with out permission earlier than the drivers had been weighed – a breach of the governing FIA’s guidelines.
Source: www.impartial.co.uk