Aston Martin lodged an objection against the outcome of the race, questioning Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz‘s rule-defying return to the track during Q2. Sainz lost control at the last turn, scraping the wall of tyres lining the opposite side of the track. The ensuing red flag signalled a halt to the race as his car remained immobile for more than a minute.
As per Article 39.6 of the F1 sporting regulations, “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.” Sainz, however, defied this rule. He restarted his vehicle, completed speedy repairs and continued to race again, clocking a lap time that advanced him to Q3. Consequently, this bumped Aston Martin‘s Lance Stroll to the 11th place, excluding him from the cut.
The intent behind the rule is to restrict drivers from rejoining the session after receiving assistance from marshals or recovery vehicles, not those who can self-restart their vehicles. But the language of the regulation doesn’t specify this, leaving room for Aston Martin to raise a protest against the outcome of the race.
Despite this, the stewards chose to dismiss Aston Martin‘s complaint, justifying their decision by referring to “numerous examples” of rule application. Their verdict highlighted, “It is clear that the plain language of Art. 39.6 suggests that so long as a car “stops” on the track during a qualifying session, that car should not be allowed to participate further in the session.”
However, they also acknowledged that team managers and FIA both had previously cited examples of the contrary. One such instance raised was Williams‘ Alex Albon’s 40-second pause during the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix qualifying, which Aston Martin argued was notably shorter than Sainz’s 1m17s stoppage time.
The stewards referenced past debates on the ambiguity of the term “stop” in the rule. Since there was no unanimous agreement among the teams about an acceptable “stop” time, discretion was given to race control. The FIA team clarified that a car could ordinarily be allowed to continue racing if it could restart and resume from a stopped position within a “reasonable” timeframe.
Notes from a previous F1 Commission meeting held at Spa in 2023 revealed discussions on adding the ‘outside assistance’ clause in article 39.6, but this change was not included in the 2024 sporting regulations.
In conclusion, the stewards held that “even if the plain wording of Article 39.6 warranted a more stark conclusion, the consistent practice in the sport to date did not warrant a setting aside of the discretion exercised by race control by us as stewards.”