What ‘concerned’ Carlos Sainz told his Ferrari mechanics after his Sao Paulo Grand Prix qualifying crash

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Fans at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix witnessed one of the most eventful qualifying sessions in recent memory in Formula 1.

Across three qualifying sessions, a quarter of the field had accidents that brought out red flags, giving fans at what was once known as the Brazilian Grand Prix plenty of action after missing out on any running on Saturday afternoon.

Franco Colapinto had a big crash in Q1 that left Karun Chandhok questioning his F1 future and giving Williams plenty of work to do.

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz was the second driver to bring out a red flag after spinning off the track heading out of the first corner.

He was followed by Aston Martin pair Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso in Q2 and Q3 respectively, with the former’s accident eliminating Max Verstappen.

Colapinto’s teammate Alex Albon then had the biggest accident of the lot, spinning out before entering turn one and destroying three corners of his FW46.

Sainz’s crash was almost unavoidable as his car was immediately out of control once he touched the throttle heading into turn two.

Karun Chandhok was covering the session for Sky Sports F1 and noticed something the Spaniard said to his mechanics which may have given them an idea of what they needed to fix in the few hours before the race.

What Carlos Sainz said to his Ferrari mechanics after Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying crash

Sainz headed to Interlagos after a stunning performance the previous weekend in Mexico City.

In completely different conditions, Sainz dominated qualifying before winning the race at a canter.

However, in the wet in Brazil, Sainz was one of five drivers who made critical errors, although plenty of other drivers also had spins but were fortunate to avoid the barriers.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

Watching the Spaniard returning to the Ferrari garage, Chandhok said: “I picked up the word cambio from Carlos Sainz which in Italian means gearbox, so I think he’s coming back and telling his mechanics that he’s concerned about that.”

Bernie Collins then explained that Sainz would only be handed a penalty if he had to use a gearbox outside of his current allocation which would be a relief to the Spaniard.

Karun Chandhok disappointed with Carlos Sainz during Sao Paulo GP weekend

Sainz has been brought back down to earth in Brazil after claiming what might be his final race victory with Ferrari in Mexico City.

The Spaniard could only finish 5th in the Sprint Race despite Ferrari showing in Mexico that their race pace was much better than Red Bull’s.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Chandhok was disappointed with Sainz on Friday as he didn’t think he was close enough to his teammate Charles Leclerc.

If Ferrari’s ambitions of winning the Constructors’ Championship are going to be achieved, then they need both cars to compete at the very front at every race.

Sainz has a lot of work to do to score points at Interlagos, but not before his mechanics have to assess the damage done to his car and try to get it ready for the 21st Grand Prix of the season.