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Russian GP: Sainz conscious after crash ends third practice

Sochi, Russia - Carlos Sainz gave a thumbs-up sign to cameras to indicate he was conscious after surviving a high speed crash that ended Saturday morning's third and final free practice session for Sunday's (October 11) Russian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard was extricated from his crashed Toro Rosso car and carried on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance and then to the circuit medical centre after crashing at Turn 13.

Lost control after braking

An official announcement by International Motoring Federation (FIA) spokesman Matteo Bonciani confirmed that Sainz was conscious as he was being taken from the wreckage.

Read: As it happened: 2015 Russian GP - 3rd Practice

He added that Sainz had been talking to the medical staff as he was extracted and had attempted to undo and take off his own helmet.

Watch the crash here:

Sainz, 21, lost control of his car after braking on a high-speed section of the Sochi Autodrom where he glanced off the outside wall and then speared straight into the barriers.

Toro Rosso team chief Franz Tost said Sainz was conscious, but could not say if he was injured or explain what caused the accident. He said Sainz would not drive in the qualifying session scheduled for later on Saturday.

The accident brought Saturday morning's third and final practice for this weekend's Russian Grand Prix to a halt - and then an early conclusion - after 36 minutes.

The Toro Rosso driver's car sheared off the track and into the barriers at Turn 13 on the Sochi Autodromo circuit where he rammed into the wall under the fitted tec-pro barriers.

Red flags out

There were immediate calls for an explanation why the tec-pro barriers, designed to absorb the worst of this kind of accident, were fitted above the level of the car's impact.

The session was red-flagged to a halt and then ended eight minutes later when it was officially announced that it was not being restarted.

As a result, few of the drivers had any real experience or information from the three practice sessions after Friday's (October 9) two practice sessions were ruined by a diesel spillage and then torrential rain.

The Williams team's drivers Finn Valtteri Bottas and Brazilian Felipe Massa were the only ones to stay on track for anything more than a few test laps.

The session ended with German Nico Rosberg fastest in his Mercedes with a best time of one minute and 38.561 seconds ahead of Bottas and series leader and last year's race winner defending two-time world champion Briton Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes.

Sainz, 21, son of former world rally champion Carlos Sainz who was not at the track because he was competing in a rally in Morocco, was not seen or heard from as emergency crews arrived to try and remove his car from the barriers.

Medical officers attended the accident as the rest of the cars filed back to the pits.

Sainz's team-mate Max Verstappen asked: "Is he ok? It looks like a big one."

The team responded :"We lost the power on the car, so we don't know."

Sainz was on his first flat-out high-speed run at the circuit, which, as a rookie, he was learning also for the first time.

Third practice classification

1. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1min38.561
2. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes 1min39.287
3. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1min39.363
4. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 1min39.616
5. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes 1min39.875
6. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 1min39.917
7. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1min40.581
8. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus - Mercedes 1min40.767
9. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 1min41.200
10. Felipe Nasr (Brazil) Sauber - Ferrari 1min41.229
11. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) RedBull - Renault 1min41.358
12. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1min42.297
13. Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - Mercedes 1min42.371
14. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber - Ferrari 1min42.450
15. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso - Renault 1min42.683
16. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 1min42.686
17. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Toro Rosso - Renault 1min43.089
18. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1min43.347
19. Roberto Merhi (Spain) Marussia - Ferrari 1min46.767
20. Will Stevens (Britain) Marussia - Ferrari 1min47.249


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