A heavy crash for Carlos Sainz Jr. ended the final practice session at the Russian Grand Prix on Saturday with the Toro Rosso driver flown to hospital.
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Toro Rosso decided not to replace Sainz, who will be kept in hospital overnight, for qualifying and the Spaniard has not given up hope of taking his place on the grid for Sunday’s race.
The Torro Rosso driver was passed fit to take part after miraculously escaping uninjured after losing control of his vehicle under braking at more than 300 kph at Turn 13 of the Sochi Autodrom where he speared into the barriers on Saturday.
The auto appeared to go underneath the barrier and, although Sainz was conscious throughout, it took medical staff and track workers roughly 20 minutes to extricate him from the wreckage.
The 21-year-old was airlifted to hospital, where he will spend the night, but he remained conscious throughout the incident and wants to race.
“Once out of the vehicle he was taken to the circuit medical center, where he underwent an initial assessment of his condition”, they said.
Meanwhile, team boss Franz Tost explained that the crash may have been caused when Sainz was caught out by a change of brake balance.
Pictures released on social media show him giving the thumbs up, but no decision has been made on whether he will participate in Sunday’s race where he would have to start from the rear of the grid.
“I kept thinking about the family – they have no idea what is going on”. Nothing to worry about!
Sainz’s 18-year-old Dutch team mate Max Verstappen had a big crash in Monaco this year and he pointed out that in his accident the barrier had not lifted.
Speaking to Autosport magazine, he also admitted to feeling “dizzy” during the first 10 laps before “it went away and I could push normally, no problems at all”.
“I’m OK, I’m fine, just a bit sore from the accident on the back and the neck, but totally ready to see what happens”, said the Spaniard. It looks like we were especially quick on the softs, which is always a good thing in the race of course because everybody has to use them once.
Sainz admitted he felt dizzy in the early stages of the race: “I’ll rest for a couple of days for sure”.
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The Toro Rosso driver’s auto sheared off the track and into the barriers at turn 13 on the Sochi Autodromo circuit where he rammed into the wall under the fitted tec-pro barriers.
