Sainz spun against the wall in the Ascari chicane in second free practice on Saturday morning, which resulted in a rather violent impact.
Recordings of the incident on board showed the magnitude of the impact, with Sainz being thrown quite a long way forward towards his steering wheel.
Ferrari is currently conducting its own investigation into the accident, using the FIA’s mandatory high-speed cockpit cameras as well as other telemetry data to get a full picture of the incident and its aftermath.
And while it is currently unclear whether or not Sainz’s helmet touched the steering wheel, that should be clear from any analysis by Ferrari and the FIA.
The way Sainz was thrown forward in the crash caused some concern among observers because it seemed so unusual.
However, the FIA says that it is normal for seat belts to sag a little as it is safer for the human body than being completely rigid then.
F1 Race Director Michael Masi stated, “I think the straps are made to stretch.
“You have a human body in there so there has to be something. You can’t just fully involve everyone because you have to give in a little.
Marshals pit Carlos Sainz Jr.’s Ferrari SF21 car
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
“So we’re going to look at belt elongation, as we do with any major or significant incident, and see what we can learn from it. Do you know can it be improved? Let’s have a look?”
When asked whether an element of the belts at Sainz might stretch too much, Masi said: “Possible. And let’s try to learn from it. “
While some had claimed that Sainz ‘HANS had come loose in the crash, the Spaniard realized to himself that this was not the case. Photos after the incident also showed his HANS seat belts.
“No, it wasn’t,” said Sainz when there was evidence that HANS carriers were torn. “The impact was just so violent that my head went forward a lot and I took a bit off the seat belts, but not the HANS.”
According to the FIA, investigating accidents after each F1 weekend was an essential process in driving further safety improvements.
Masi added, “I am always encouraged by all of the safety features and the continuous improvement in safety that we have.
“You are watching Carlos’ incident in FP2. While it didn’t look like much, it was quite a heavy influence.
“Be it Halo, equipment, car design, everything, there is always this constant further development to improve safety as a whole.”
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