McLaren fined for unsafe Sainz pit stop

McLaren have been fined €5,000 for releasing driver Carlos Sainz from a pit stop in an unsafe manner during Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.

Sainz was running in a positive sixth place for the team during his first pit stop, but a problem with the front right tyre meant that he went no further than the end of the pit lane and ended up retiring from race.

After investigating the pit stop, the stewards released the following statement in relation to the incident;

“The stewards determined that the car was released in an unsafe condition in breach of Article 28.13 c) of the FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.

“We note that the driver stopped the car as soon as the problem with the right front wheel became evident.”

With close rivals and engine suppliers Renault taking their best joint result since 2008 with fourth and fifth place, Sainz believed that it had been a disappointing weekend for the team, but insisted that the pit crew were not to blame for the mistake,

“I had some problems after the contact with Albon. We lost a piece at the back of the car and we were losing two or three tenths per lap, but everything was going well." Sainz told Autosport after the race. "Then came the pitstop and it was a bit of chaos and there was a bit of a misunderstanding and we couldn’t make it.”

“The pit stops and the strategy have been very good this year.  Today maybe we lost eight points because of it, but we’ve gained a lot more points thanks to strategy and pit stops this year than we lost today, so it’s time to analyse, to learn what we could have done better, but we don’t need to be too sad.”