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FIA to investigate Sainz' Ferrari: Seatbelt possibly too loose in crash

FIA to investigate Sainz' Ferrari: "Seatbelt possibly too loose in crash"

16-09-2021 11:47 Last update: 13:36

GPblog.com

Carlos Sainz made a big crash during free practice at Monza. The FIA saw a reason to investigate the safety belt of the Ferrari: it might have been too loose.

Onboard footage showed Sainz being thrown very far forward at the moment his car hit the barrier. In addition, the Ferrari driver said on the team radio that the impact was big, possibly confirming that the blow was even harder than it should have been.

Sainz seat belt under investigation by FIA

However, it should also not be the case that there is no room for freedom of movement at all. "The belts are made in such a way that they give a little bit," explains race director Michael Masi to Motorsport-Total.com. "There's a human body in there, so there has to be a bit of slack. You can't fully strap someone in, there has to be some elasticity."

However, he admits that the slack may have been too great in Sainz's case. "That is possible. We will look at the elasticity of the belt and see what we can learn from it. The safety measures and the constant improvement of it are encouraging, but we have to learn from this."