Aston Martin has elected to lodge a protest regarding Carlos Sainz resuming qualifying for the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix after his car came to a halt during Q2.
Sainz lost control of his Ferrari on the exit of the final corner at the Shanghai International Circuit in the opening stages of the Q2 session, bringing out the red flag.
However, the Spaniard managed to get going and then recovered to the pits to fit a new front wing before setting a lap time that was good enough to progress to Q3.
Sainz’s progression came at the expense of 11th-placed Lance Stroll, but his Aston Martin team believes that Article 39.6 of the Sporting Regulations was breached.
As a result, the Silverstone-based squad has protested and has until 18:00 local time in Shanghai to report to the FIA stewards, along with representatives from Ferrari.
Article 39.6 states: “Any driver whose car stops on the track during the qualifying session or the Sprint qualifying session shootout will not be permitted to take any further part in that session.”
Race Control did note that Sainz had stopped on track following his touch with the barrier, which has triggered Aston Martin’s conviction that the rule was contravened.
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