FIA investigates Sainz's flexible belt after Monza crash

During the summer break Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said he was happy with Carlos Sainz driving alongside Charles Leclerc, but also said that the Spaniard should be able to deliver a trouble free weekend by now. In the two races after the summer break (at Spa there was no real racing) Sainz did not really deliver that. At Zandvoort, Sainz ended up in the wall and in Italy it was no different.

On Saturday morning, Sainz lost his Ferrari in the Ascari Chicane, resulting in a fairly big crash. Although the Spaniard was able to continue his race weekend, footage of the crash showed Sainz's head moving forward quite quickly during the crash. Some observant viewers even suggested that he might have hit his steering wheel with his helmet.

Because the crash looked rather unorthodox, questions were raised about the safety of Sainz' Ferrari's belts. Michael Masi replies Autosport.com an answer to those questions: "I think the belts are made to stretch. There's a human body in there, so there has to be some slack. You can't fully strap everyone in."

"So we will, as we do with any major or important incident, see what we can learn from it. Whether it's the halo, the equipment, the design of the car, everything, there is always a constant evolution to improve safety," Masi concluded.

The HANS (Head and Neck Support System) of the new Ferrari driver was not to blame in any case. Photos taken after the incident showed it was still in place. "It was just that the impact was so heavy that my head went forward a lot and I got a bit of the straps, but not of the HANS," Sainz said.