Carlos Sainz has received his third reprimand of the season and Ferrari fined €25,000 after the Spaniard was deemed to have impeded Lance Stroll in FP3.

Approaching Turns 17 and 18, Sainz was given a series of grossly incorrect messages, by radio, about the gaps to the cars behind, according to the stewards.

It was unclear to the stewards why such misleading information was given to Sainz, who was under the impression that there was no car immediately behind him.

Due to the poor rear visibility at that part of the circuit, the Spaniard was relying entirely on the team’s messages.

Notwithstanding, it was noted that Sainz almost came to a stop on the circuit, which the stewards deemed unacceptable, hence the penalty of a reprimand.

The stewards were keen to make clear that similar behaviour by any driver during qualifying may involve much more severe penalties.

It was also noted that a similar situation occurred in relation to the incident Sebastian Vettel later in the session, where once again incorrect information was passed by the team to the driver, and again Sainz was driving slower that can be considered reasonable in view of the location and circumstances.

On his third reprimand of the season, a further reprimand would result in a grid penalty.

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