Formula 1 Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. has debunked rumors that he missed the Monaco Grand Prix with a suspected “injury”.
After Monaco’s traditional charity football match earlier this week, Ferrari Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr. he was depicted with a bandage around his right leg.
In the age of social media, it didn’t take long for “Barney Fife to shoot himself in the chest”. The photo has sparked speculation that he suffered a “serious injury” in the match and will thus be ruled out of Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix at the Circuit de Monaco and possibly beyond.
Sainz named it nothing more than “people trying to get some click bait” with a “headline that has no basis or any information”.
Carlos Sainz Jr. called “amateur journalists” for successfully fabricating a story ahead of this year’s Monaco Grand Prix.
The reality is that last year’s British Grand Prix winner just made contact during the match, which was to be expected. It’s a physical sport.
In response to the rumors, he even posted a statement on social media using the hashtag #StopInventing.
Given the rumors, some were probably surprised to see Sainz behind the wheel of his Ferrari-powered #55 SF23 on Friday at the Circuit de Monaco. But there was no surprise from the Ferrari camp and there shouldn’t be.
Sainz finished first in FP1 on the 19-corner, 2,074-mile (3,338-kilometre) Monte Carlo street circuit and finished third in FP2, although his FP2 session ended at the barriers at the exit of La Piscine.
In seven career starts for Monaco, Sainz never finished outside the top 10, scoring points in every event. In each of the last two years, he was ranked second. He led three laps around the track last May, leading for the first time at this iconic venue.
The Monaco Grand Prix will be televised live on ESPN from the Circuit de Monaco this Sunday, May 28, starting at 8:55 a.m. EST, and apart from some unforeseen circumstances from now until then, Sainz will indeed compete in the crown jewel race. start FuboTV free trial and don’t miss qualifying (ESPN, Saturday at 9:55 ET) or the race itself!
