Sainz pardons Vettel for Austria block

Carlos Sainz has excused Sebastian Vettel after an incident in qualifying.

Renault's Sainz went off the track and broke a wing when he encountered a slow-moving Vettel on the racing line in Austria.

'He didn't see me'

"It made me break a wing, which obviously costs our team money, but he didn't do it on purpose.

READ: Italian press slams Vettel for 'amateur error'

He didn't see me and I think he was not warned by radio," said the Spaniard.

Vettel was penalised three places on the Austrian grand prix grid for the incident.

"I can only apologise. I did not see him in the mirror and the team didn't tell me either," the Ferrari driver told RTL.

Meanwhile, Sainz said he didn't notice a big difference after Renault introduced a new engine 'qualifying mode' for Austria.

"I did not notice the new engine map too much," he added.