Formula 1 Austrian GP
Austrian GP marshals defend handling of Sainz F1 fire
Red Bull Ring marshals have defended their handling of Carlos Sainz’s fire at Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix last weekend, after criticism they responded too slowly.
Jonathan Noble Christian Nimmervoll
Edited: Jul 17, 2022, 10:47 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Sainz was forced out of the Spielberg race in the closing stages after suffering a catastrophic engine failure, which triggered a blaze on his Ferrari.
The flames took hold of the car, and Sainz was one of several people suggesting that the incident could have been dealt with more swiftly.
Speaking afterwards, Sainz said: “I was calling the marshals to come and help me, to put something on the tyres to stop the car rolling down but I think the whole process was a bit slow.
"And at some point, there was so much fire that I had to really get a move on and jump out independently. I think it was just at that time that the first marshal arrived and stopped the car."
With the Sainz incident having prompted debate, the official safety crew at the Austrian track has elected to issue a statement explaining why all procedures were followed correctly – even if it appeared that things had been slow.
Primarily, it stated that the first issue at stake was the fact that marshals are not allowed to attend to incidents until they have been given the go-ahead by race control.
“After the terrible accident of Jules Bianchi in 2014, the FIA's rules regarding recoveries and interventions on the track have been drastically tightened,” said the statement.
“Intervention is only allowed after instructions from race control. On the one hand, this naturally increases the safety of the drivers and marshals, but on the other hand, it has the disadvantage that interventions take a little longer.”
The marshals also explained that there were a set of unique circumstances which meant the fire had to be dealt with by a vehicle rather than fire extinguishers carried by individuals.
“Several unfortunate circumstances came together,” they added. “The place where Sainz parked the Ferrari was not visible from the marshals' stand. They received instructions over the radio to go to the car with fire extinguishers, and when they saw the situation, they made the decision to call in the fire engine (S-car).
“This decision had to be made within seconds and, in retrospect, was absolutely correct. If you remember [Romain] Grosjean's accident, in a situation like that, hand-held fire extinguishers are absolutely not enough. Therefore, the fire extinguisher was turned off and the car was [left], which led to that unfortunate image on TV of the marshal "running away".
“Another problem was that Sainz, understandably, became nervous in the vehicle and went off the brakes too early. The wedge had to be pushed under the rolling vehicle, which of course made the whole thing extremely difficult. However, due to the resistance of the wedge, the vehicle steered in and stopped at the guard rail. Afterwards, the fire could be extinguished with a few pushes of the extinguisher.”
Read Also:
Marshals remove the fire damaged car of Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75, from the circuit
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
The marshals admitted that improvements can always be made in how things are handled, but they are adamant that they did nothing wrong in terms of the following the correct procedures to deal with the fire.
“Of course, in retrospect, when you look at the TV pictures and recordings from the track cameras, you find things that need to be improved. We will also discuss these internally and together with our people.
“But in this exceptional situation, because a fire is not an everyday occurrence for us either, the marshals reacted well on the whole.
“We had a fire engine on the scene in less than 30 seconds, which would have brought a fast-spreading fire under control. Since Grosjean's accident, it is very important for us to have a lot of "extinguishing power" on the spot immediately in order to protect the driver in the best possible way.
“Another emergency vehicle was already standing by and a third was on its way. Even if Sainz had not come out of the vehicle on his own, we would have been able to protect him in the best possible way.
“We are a team of motorsport enthusiasts who sacrifice their free time for training and exercises in order to do our best for safety along the track at such events. We will also take this incident as an opportunity to improve further.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Alfa Romeo "not blind" to Audi’s interest in Sauber F1 team
Next article Alonso feels back at his best level in F1 2022
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Latest news
Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
3 h
Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links
Did Haas make the correct decision in signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027?
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
5 h
Did Haas make the correct decision in signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027?
Frederik Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 5 h
Frederik Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
Rafael Camara to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
6 h
Rafael Camara to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe