Carlos Sainz says that the stewards’ decision to open an investigation into an alleged impeding incident “depends how much you shout on the radio”.
Sainz was issued a three-place grid penalty for the Canadian Grand Prix after he was found guilty of disturbing Pierre Gasly’s final lap in Q1 as they approached the final corner.
Gasly fumed at the Spaniard after the session, labelling his driving as “dangerous and unnecessary”.
But Sainz says that he was also impeded during the session but didn’t flag any of the incidents on team radio.
“Well, it was very tight with the flag, the flag was about to fall,” Sainz said, reflecting on his incident with Gasly.
“I got impeded several times today and I am not shouting on the radio in Turn 13. Other drivers use the radio more than others.
“Today I was getting impeded many, many times. Some incidents are under investigation, some others are not. It depends how much you shout on the radio and how much you complain.
“I was stopped and I had to let other cars go and I couldn’t get out of the way and I did my best to get out of the way, and I tried to go.
“The flag was about to fall and it was a bit of every man for himself and I had to go, otherwise I would also have missed my qualifying lap and I was getting impeded at the time too.”
Sainz had a tricky day overall as he lost time in FP3 following a spin at Turn 1 that heavily damaged his Ferrari car.
However, his mechanics were able to repair the SF23 and have it ready for the start of qualifying, to the delight of Sainz.
“It was amazing. When I saw the car, it did not look good. The mechanics always do an incredible job putting it back together,” he said.
“They never miss a chance to surprise me, because they are some of the true heroes of this sport and we could do qualifying well.
“One of the trickiest, by far, of my career, and especially coming from the incident, from the crash, and having to put slicks on on a damp track with the rain coming.
“It was very, very tricky but I pulled it off and I’m happy with that.”
