Carlos Sainz slams FIA after ‘human error’ left drivers with power inequality in sprint qualifying

Carlos Sainz has slated the FIA after a bizarre error led to some Formula 1 drivers being down on power in Singapore Grand Prix sprint qualifying. 

The Williams driver finished 22nd and slowest in sprint qualifying in Singapore, which was delayed due to a glitch in the timing systems at the end of SQ1 and SQ2. 

Separate to that, F1’s governing body admitted that a “human error” in race control meant drivers were not able to use Overtake Mode for a crucial period following a red flag caused when Sergio Perez crashed his Cadillac. 

Sainz, who was one of several drivers affected by the issue, accused the FIA of having no regard for “sporting equity”. 

“Unfortunately we had a really poor lap there, we only got one lap,” the Spaniard explained after sprint qualifying.  

“We had some issues with the brakes in FP1, we had to change them for sprint qualifying and we were having some brake issues still. Had a few lock ups, was struggling with that and the tyres. 

“But on top of that, half of the cars did the lap with half a second quicker engine than the others. There was a software issue with the cars and we were on the bad end of it. 

“For whatever reason the FIA, like in Malaysia, didn’t decide to do sporting equity and were happy to do quali with half of the cars in quali with a higher power than the other half of the cars. 

“So a bit confused why the sport keeps doing different things depending on who is out in Q1 or who is out in lap one.” 

The FIA clarified that this was not a software issue but a mistake surrounding the re-enabling of Overtake Mode. 

Overtake Mode gives drivers an extra half-megajoule of energy during their laps, which can be used for outright lap-time performance, or be used to help tyre preparation on out-laps. 

"During the first period of Sprint Qualifying there was a human error in Race Control unrelated to the timing issue also encountered in SQ1,” an FIA spokesperson explained. 

"This issue in question meant Overtake Mode was not available after the red flag period during SQ1. When it became apparent that Overtake Mode was not active after the restart, it was then activated for a period of 27 seconds before being deactivated again. 

"The FIA acknowledges that this unfortunate human error had an impact on the performance of certain cars based on the timing of their run and their position around the lap. The second and third periods of Sprint Qualifying were not affected.”

The FIA has not yet commented on the separate timing glitch.