Sainz Jr penalized for Baku

The stewards of the Canadian GP have decided to sanction Carlos Sainz Jr for his clash with Romain Grosjean and Felipe Massa in the first round. The pilot Toro Rosso will have to move back 3 places on the grid for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix contested in Baku on June 25.

Carlos Sainz Jr closed the door on Romain Grosjean and spun before hitting the Williams FW40 by Felipe Massa. The Spaniard and the Brazilian retired while the pilot Haas had to go through the pits to change the front wing.

“I apologize to Romain Grosjean and Felipe Massa. Romain was out of my field of vision and I couldn't see him. I am happy to know that we are all unhurt”, commented Carlos Sainz Jr on Twitter.

Apologies to @RGrosjean and as a consequence @ MassaFelipe19 Romain was simply on my blind spot and never got to see him. Glad we are all OK!

- Carlos Sainz (@ Carlossainz55) 11th June 2017

"If our conclusion is that the collision was not the result of a deliberate act on the part of the driver of car No. 55, we consider that his assumption in thinking that he had no car alongside him and that he could move to that location on the track was potentially dangerous and reckless”, indicates the commissioners’ report.

Carlos Sainz Jr also received two penalty points, making a total of 7 for the year for the Toro Rosso driver.

Discover the analysis of the Canadian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2118 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.