The Spaniard left the pit lane during Q3, the session in which he would finish in P7, and dragged a huge piece of plastic, which turned out to be a floor sticker, that had latched onto his rear tyre.

Whilst his qualifying results did not come under threat, Williams was punished by the race officials.

The team led by James Vowles has been fined 5000 euros for releasing Sainz in an unsafe manner.

"The team advised that it had been using this floor sticker since mid-season and had not previously experienced any problems with it peeling off the floor," the Stewards' verdict explained.

"However, ultimately, the team is responsible for ensuring that the car is not released in an unsafe condition, and video evidence showed that the driver had great difficulty in controlling the car; thus, the stewards determine that this was an unsafe situation," the race officials concluded.

Alexander Albon was also under investigation for a pit lane infringement at the start of qualifying. The team were absolved of any wrongdoing in this case and will not face a penalty for the incident. Albon qualified in P15.

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