Carlos Sainz has clarified his comments about the marshals’ response to his retirement at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard suffered an engine failure as he chased Max Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring with a fire quickly engulfing the right-hand side of the car.
Initially, only one marshal immediately came to assist Sainz, who was unable to get out of the car as it rolled back down a slope while the flames got closer to the cockpit.
Eventually, Carlos was able to escape and the fire was extinguished but not without significant damage to the bodywork on his Ferrari.
Later, he admitted: “I think the whole process was a bit slow.
“At some point, there was so much fire that I had to really get a move on and jump out independently,” Sainz added
“I think it was just at that time that the first marshal arrived and stopped the car.”
His comments drew a strong response from the marshals who took to social media to defend their actions, though conceded “several unfortunate circumstances came together” to initially limit the reaction from those at the scene.
“I can understand why they wrote it [the statement] because I guess what I said after the race felt like a criticism to them,” Sainz said on Thursday via Motorsport Week.
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“I didn’t intend to come out at all with criticism, I am the first one that I always speak very highly about marshals and the heroes that they [are], the way they volunteer to be in these kind of situations and protect us.
“I never wanted to make it sound like a criticism to anyone. I just wanted to make sure it was analysed and see where we can do it better next time.
“It wasn’t a comfortable moment in the car. It felt a bit hectic at the time and a bit messy.
“The explanation didn’t arrive to me, I saw it through the media, which is maybe something I will need to talk [about] with the FIA.”
It was expected that, following the engine failure, Sainz would take a grid penalty at this weekend’s French GP but…
“There’s a chance we will put a new engine this weekend, which would involve a penalty,” he revealed. “But we haven’t taken the final decision yet.”