Ferrari's Carlos Sainz has to pay a fine for leaving the track after an accident in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.

After Carlos Sainz crossed the race track sideways following his accident in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix, the race director imposed a fine of 25,000 euros on him, of which 12,500 euros are suspended.

Sainz lost control of his Ferrari at the start of a flying lap in the final corner of the track and crashed into the outer barrier.

The incident led to the session being red-flagged. As Sainz got out of his car, he crossed the track to take the fastest route back to Ferrari's garage.

For safety reasons, drivers are not allowed to cross the track while the session is still in progress. Once all cars have returned to the pits, they must obtain permission from a marshal.

“The race stewards examined videos, questioned the track marshals and heard from the driver that he had crossed the intersection without first obtaining permission from a track marshal,” the race stewards said in a statement.

“The regulations clearly state that this is not permitted and is a potentially very dangerous situation. Furthermore, this was reiterated by the Race Director in a previous drivers' meeting.

“The race control assumes that Sainz thought the track was clear because he was driving after entering the pit lane and there was a red flag. However, there were still five cars on the road and it was possible that one made a mistake and did not enter the pit lane or entered the pit lane faster than Sainz thought.”

“In addition, there may have been other vehicles on the track that the driver was unaware of. Race control has compared this with other penalties that have been imposed recently where the track was in racing conditions but under safety car deployment. This is a slightly less serious case due to the red flag.

“In addition, the driver's claim that he was beyond the pit entrance is another mitigating circumstance. But given the express rule reiterated in previous driver meetings, the Race Direction members impose a fine that is lower than previous penalties and order that half of it be suspended for the remainder of the 2024 season, given the mitigating circumstances.”

Sainz qualified tenth for Sunday's race, but if Ferrari makes any changes to his car during repairs, he may have to start from the pit lane.

Regarding the incident, the Ferrari driver said he had misjudged the temperature loss of his tires after he had left the racing line before the final corner to let other cars pass.

“I had a bit of a strange accident there,” he said. “I had to let a lot of cars through there.”

“When I started my lap, my tires were much colder than I thought. I misjudged the grip on the bump in turn 17 and it completely broke away. Driving error.”

“I was already under pressure because another car was coming and I knew I was going to be slower at the start of the lap because the approach to the last corner was slow. So that meant I was trying to do something when there wasn't enough grip to do it.”