F1 star hit with Japanese Grand Prix fine as Max Verstappen sent to the stewards | F1 | Sport

Carlos Sainz picked up a fine of £850 (€1000) for speeding in the pit lane during FP3 at the Japanese Grand Prix. Elsewhere, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri were both called to the FIA stewards for overtaking cars in the pit lane exit, but the Red Bull and McLaren drivers escaped with warnings.

Sainz’s speeding violation was a serious overstep. The Spaniard clocked a speed of 93.7km/h in the pit lane, with the permitted maximum being 80km/h. This earned Williams an £850 fine for breaching Article 15 of the sporting regulations. As for Verstappen and Piastri, they overtook cars in the fast lane on their way to the practice start area. This was also policed on Friday, with Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll falling foul of Article 12.2.1 of the sporting code.

As was the case with Hamilton and Stroll on Friday, Verstappen and Piastri both received ‘official warnings’ from the FIA, along with the Red Bull and McLaren teams.

“Car 1 overtook a significant number of cars whilst traversing the Working Lane en route to the practice start area, after having momentarily been in the Fast Lane,” the stewards’ report explained. “The Stewards note that the driver of Car 1 did perform a genuine practice start and rejoined after all cars in the Fast Lane had passed.

“In relation to the general subject of overtaking in the pit lane, the fact that a warning was issued for the four cases this weekend is not to be taken as a precedent, and the Stewards note that future breaches of pit lane procedures may involve a sporting penalty.”

As for Sainz, the fine was the latest incident in a messy start to the Japanese GP weekend. The four-time Grand Prix winner accidentally missed his garage during FP1 on Friday, forcing him to do another lap before pulling into his pit box.

The experienced Spaniard was tipped by many to hit the ground running at Williams and spearhead James Vowles’ team’s charge into the upper echelons of the midfield, but instead it has been team-mate Alex Albon leading the efforts.

While Albon has a remarkable 16 points to his name after two races, Sainz has just one, which was scored in Shanghai after Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly were all disqualified from the Grand Prix.