WATCH: Sainz blames 'misjudgement' for race-ending opening lap crash in Russia

He was wiped out of the Tuscan Grand Prix after five laps when he became embroiled in the massive re-start crash, and Carlos Sainz’s Russian Grand Prix was even shorter – the McLaren driver crashing out at Turn 2 on the opening lap.

Having started sixth, Sainz was trying to maintain that position amid a tightly bunched pack into Turn 2 when he ran wide into the run-off area. As the rules dictate, the Spaniard could then re-join the track only after negotiating the marker bollards, but as he tried to swerve through at speed he clipped the wall, ripping off his left-front wheel and ending his race immediately.

Sainz immediately apologised to his crew over Team Radio, before going to the medical centre for a mandatory check over.

"I didn’t have a very good start, the dirty side of the grid was terrible – we were all slow off the line," explained Sainz.

"And then unfortunately at Turn 2 I had someone on the inside, I ran a bit wide, and by the time I decided to go around the bollard, I went around the bollard with a very narrow angle and I misjudged my entry speed around the bollard and hit the wall pretty heavily.

"So a misjudgement by my side, a mistake, but I still think that corner shouldn’t exist. It’s not a nice corner to drive around and it generates these kind of these situations."

It’s the fifth time in his career that Sainz has gone out of a race on lap one in his 111-race F1 career. In Belgium, the 26-year-old didn’t even make it that far, when technical issues meant his McLaren couldn’t take the start.