Clarity and fairness – Carlos Sainz's expectations from FIA investigation into Red Bull's F1 cost cap breach

Carlos Sainz feels that the FIA investigation into Red Bull's F1 cost cap breach needs transparency and fairness. The Ferrari driver was questioned about his views on Red Bull's cost cap breach by Jim Vertuno from Associated Press during the driver's press conference at the 2022 F1 US GP. Sainz admitted that the most important thing at this point is keeping everything fair regarding how FIA proceeds in this situation.

The Ferrari driver talked about how it was common knowledge to everyone when it comes to the equivalent performance gain that can be achieved with incremental spending. He said,

"It’s not only Red Bull, right? I'm joking. There's Lance here, who is not listening! But I think every team and every driver, we just want clarity, first of all, and second, fairness. And we all know how much 1, 2, 3, 4 – I don't know what's the number – million can make to car development and car speed in Formula 1. That's why years ago everyone was spending 350 million, or the top three teams were spending 350 million, and now we're spending 150 to keep these things under control."

He further added that the action needs to be such that it takes away the appetite of any team when it comes to overspending in the future. He said,

"And yeah, I just hope that if there's a penalty the penalty is relatively important to take the appetite away from overspending 2 or 3 million to waste on next year's car because you think next year's car is worth it more than the other year, and then you take a penalty for ignoring it. I don't know, I just think it needs to be fair play for everyone. And if there's a cost cap, it's there to be followed and I just hope that the FIA takes the right decisions to make sure that everyone follows it."

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Carlos Sainz reflects on an early race DNF at the 2022 F1 US GP

Carlos Sainz had secured an impressive pole position at the 2022 F1 US GP. He started the race in pole position and was in contention to fight for the win against Max Verstappen. However, all hopes of a Carlos Sainz fight for the win ended when the Ferrari driver was hit from behind by George Russell's Mercedes and ended up retiring from the race.

The Ferrari driver was despondent as this was a second consecutive first-lap DNF for Carlos Sainz. Talking to the media after the race, he said,

"Not much to say today. I got hit by the Mercedes going into turn 1 while battling with Max (Verstappen), I managed to come back to the pits but the car was too badly damaged to continue. I feel the pace would have been there and it would have been an interesting race, but I prefer to look ahead and start focusing on Mexico. It's not easy to catch a break this season, but we'll keep going at it until the end."

Carlos Sainz has not had the best of luck in the recent races and hopes to put together a better set of results in the last three races of the season.