Sainz: There are deliberate accidents in qualifying

Sergio Perez had to deny rumors that he had made a mistake in qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix in May. Reportedly due to Sergio deliberately provoking the appearance of red flags at that stage, Max Verstappen refused to let his partner come forward in Sao Paulo.

In Abu Dhabi, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz said on Thursday he was aware of cases where drivers deliberately crashed during qualifying to impede rivals and offered to penalize such actions.

Carlos Sainz: “I don’t want to comment on whether it was done intentionally or not [в случае с Пересом]but now all riders are waiting for a new rule – if someone’s actions led to yellow or red flags, whether intentional or not, action must be taken against the rider, as he ruined others’ attempt.

This should be fined. If this does not happen, everyone will try to behave in this way. I’ve experimented with it a lot more in recent years than the press would have let on. When we analyze such incidents, we immediately understand whether it was done intentionally or not. We’re not crazy. I don’t want to go into anything specific, it’s already in the past, but if there were a ban on such actions, then no one would have thought of doing such a thing.

I can’t say that such incidents are a regular occurrence, but there have already been enough to think about introducing an appropriate rule. We discussed the matter several times, but did not come to any conclusions. I believe there should be a rule like that out next year.

If someone caused yellow or red flags to appear in qualifying and the rest had to interrupt the attempt, this should be penalized with the loss of three or five places at the start. In addition, this will encourage riders to act more cautiously on the circle, leaving them with a margin of half a percent.

I don’t know if this subject will come up at the pilots’ briefing tomorrow. Perhaps I will raise this issue. I will think”.