Sainz calls for faster F1 fire response after Austrian GP scare

Ferrari Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz hopes marshals will be able to respond more quickly to blazes in the future after suffering a fire scare during Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

The burned out car of Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75, after a fire causes his retirement

Sainz was about to challenge Max Verstappen for second place when his engine went up in smoke with 15 laps to go, and the Spaniard immediately pulled over at Turn 4.

The back of his Ferrari F1-75 was quickly engulfed in flames as Sainz was frantically waving at the marshals to attend to him.

But while he was keen to get out of his burning car, Turn 4's dramatic slope meant the car started rolling backwards as soon as he took his foot off the brakes. Only after a marshal threw a chock behind his front right wheel could the Spaniard climb out safely.

Sainz said that he was initially reluctant to jump out and leave his Ferrari rolling down the hill out of control, but at some point the fire became so intense that he had no choice but to bail out.

"Yeah, it was not an ideal and an easy situation for sure," he said.

"I saw in my mirrors that the car was catching fire. But at the same time, I was pressing the brake.

"And as soon as I tried to jump out, I saw that the car was running backwards, and I didn't want to leave the car completely free out of control rolling backwards while jumping out.

"I was calling the marshals to come and help me, to put something on the tyres to stop the car rolling down but I think the whole process was a bit slow.

"And at some point, there was so much fire that I had to really get a move on and jump out independently. I think it was just at that time that the first marshal arrived and stopped the car."

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, walks away from his car after a fire

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, walks away from his car after a fire

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

The sluggish response from the corner marshals drew criticism from observers, especially from members of the IndyCar paddock whose AMR safety team is known for its incredibly rapid arrival at the scene of an incident.

Penske driver Scott McLaughlin, the winner of IndyCar's most recent race at Mid-Ohio, tweeted it was "crazy how long that took for people to help Carlos Sainz there, thank you to the IndyCar safety [team]".

Sainz agreed that the FIA should look into what can be done to speed up the safety response in similar incidents.

"Yeah, it's definitely something we want to look at; what we could have done a bit faster, because it was not the easiest situation to be in," he added.

At the time, Sainz had a sizeable pace and tyre advantage over Verstappen, meaning he would have likely finished second behind race-winning team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Read Also:

Sainz admitted he was "lost for words" after the latest round of Ferrari reliability woes in 2022, one week on from taking his maiden win in Silverstone.

shares
comments

Related video

Austria F1 drivers’ briefing "going in circles" before Vettel stormed out

F1 drivers play down flare concerns after Austrian GP

How a lawyer-turned-journalist became a crucial player in Alfa's F1 revival

How a lawyer-turned-journalist became a crucial player in Alfa's F1 revival

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Qatar GP
GP Racing

How a lawyer-turned-journalist became a crucial player in Alfa's F1 revival How a lawyer-turned-journalist became a crucial player in Alfa's F1 revival

Why a Qatar sprint race coronation for Verstappen befits a dull 2023 F1 season

Why a Qatar sprint race coronation for Verstappen befits a dull 2023 F1 season

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Qatar GP
Matt Kew

Why a Qatar sprint race coronation for Verstappen befits a dull 2023 F1 season Why a Qatar sprint race coronation for Verstappen befits a dull 2023 F1 season

F1 folk: The 'lucky' engineer who guided Grosjean and helped build Haas

F1 folk: The 'lucky' engineer who guided Grosjean and helped build Haas

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Qatar GP
Oleg Karpov

F1 folk: The 'lucky' engineer who guided Grosjean and helped build Haas F1 folk: The 'lucky' engineer who guided Grosjean and helped build Haas

The salvation story behind Benetton's emergence as an F1 team

The salvation story behind Benetton's emergence as an F1 team

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Damien Smith

The salvation story behind Benetton's emergence as an F1 team The salvation story behind Benetton's emergence as an F1 team

Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers

Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Damien Smith

Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers

When Mansell and Senna settled their differences in an F1 pitlane scuffle

When Mansell and Senna settled their differences in an F1 pitlane scuffle

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Belgian GP
GP Racing

When Mansell and Senna settled their differences in an F1 pitlane scuffle When Mansell and Senna settled their differences in an F1 pitlane scuffle

The F1 treasure map where Hamilton hopes Mercedes hits gold

The F1 treasure map where Hamilton hopes Mercedes hits gold

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Jonathan Noble

The F1 treasure map where Hamilton hopes Mercedes hits gold The F1 treasure map where Hamilton hopes Mercedes hits gold

The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose

The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Alex Kalinauckas

The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose

Subscribe