Carlos Sainz breaks little-known rule after securing victory in the Australian Grand Prix… but can YOU work out what it is?
Carlos Sainz broke a little-known rule after winning the Australian Grand Prix.
Sainz took advantage of Max Verstappen’s early brake failure to secure victory. Lewis Hamilton also retired after his engine failed.
Back in action after he missed the Saudi Arabian grand prix due to appendicitis, Sainz finished ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was second, while Lando Norris finished third.
Ferrari’s 29-year-old Sainz – who will leave at the end of the season – threw his gloves into the paddock as he celebrated.
As reported by The Sun, Sainz then seemed to brush off an official who was trying to direct him towards the weigh-in station.
Carlos Sainz broke a little-known rule following his victory at the Australian Grand Prix
Sainz ignored a race official as he threw his gloves into the paddock following his victory
F1 rules state that all drivers have to weigh in before and after the race while wearing all their gear. This is so that they do not breach the minimum weight threshold of 80kg, with the rule in place for health and safety reasons.
Sainz wasn’t punished for the incident, with commentator David Croft saying on Sky Sports: ‘I’m not technically sure that is allowed but who cares.’
Martin Brundle then said: ‘You’re not really supposed to go near your team unless (sic) somebody slips a spanner in your pocket or something, a bit of extra weight.’
Verstappen had won the first two races of the season, in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Commenting on his brake failure, Verstappen said: ‘S*** happens. It is important that we understand why it happened and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.’
‘We could see in the data as soon as lights went off, the right rear brake just stuck on.
Sainz didn’t comply with the rule that drivers have to be weighed with all their gear on
‘The temperature just kept on increasing, it was basically driving with the handbrake on. I already felt car was really weird to drive in some corners. Very snappy.
‘While [during] the laps to the grid, the car was really spot on. I was very happy with what we were doing. But that explains if brake was stuck on, that doesn’t help.
‘We had a lot of good races in a row, a lot of basically good reliability and I knew the day would come that you end up having a retirement and unfortunately that day was today.’
