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In a new development, Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz Jr, who suffered an excruciating collision with the barriers during the practice session in Sochi, has been cleared to compete in the Russian GP by his medical team following clearance from FIA doctors.
The 21-year old Spanish racer was aspiring to get back into the main event on Sunday. BBC reported the Torro Rosso driver expressing his intent to participate in the Russian GP as he believed that he had recovered enough to compete in the race.
Sainz stated, "My back and neck are just a bit sore but I'm totally ready. Hopefully on Sunday, I will wake up in good shape and I can try to race. Obviously, we need to be cautious.”
Since he did not complete the qualifying round, he required stewards’ permission to accomodate him for the race. They allowed him to start if the results of the medical check-up indicated he could do so.
Earlier during the practice round, Sainz had lost control when he attempted to navigate a sharp curve in Turn 13. Conequently, his car brushed along the wall before drifting across the track and pierced into the barriers.
He had been in full throttle at around 200 miles per hour during the catastrophic crash. From the GPS measurements, his impact speed was tracked at 87 mph.
There was no clear explanation for the accident. Several observers noted that a tyre change and a slight modification to his brake balance had contributed to Sainz losing control over his vehicle.
Expressing his disappointment, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel said, “It was shocking to see he was so deep in the barriers and that he was covered by barriers. The idea is for the barriers not to come on top of you or the car going under the barriers."
Fellow Spaniard, two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso enthused, “After a big impact, he is okay. Everything did its job, so there are a lot of positives from the accident."
The Russian GP is scheduled to begin at 16:30 IST on Sunday.
