Carlos Sainz cleared after high-speed Russian GP crash [w/videos]

Practice sessions this weekend for the Russian Grand Prix were interrupted on Friday when Carlos Sainz, Jr. crashed his STR10 into the barricade at the Sochi Autodrom. The high-speed crash – reported to have reached velocities of around 200 miles per hour – took place in the wet at Turn 13, a sweeping left-hander along the back straight, when Sainz lost control of his car under braking. The back of the car appears to have gotten away from him, rotating counter-clockwise to send his nose into the wall. Once the front-left wheel broke off in the initial collision, he lost braking power and went nose-first into the wall by the tight right-hander at Turn 14.

After being extracted from the wreckage, Sainz was airlifted to a local hospital to undergo tests, but does not appear to have lost consciousness at any point after the crash. He has now passed all the relevant exams, and was declared fit to race. So while he was unable to participate in Saturday's qualifying session, he has been allowed to race on Sunday. That put the onus on the team, however, to bring his car back up to spec for the actual race.

The son of the two-time World Rally Champion of the same name, Carlos Jr is a rookie on the grid this year. He climbed his way up the formula racing ladder, winning championships in both levels of Formula Renault before being promoted to F1 with Toro Rosso. He currently sits fifteenth in the standings, with a best finish of eight place in Malaysia earlier this year. Watch on-board footage of his crash in the first video below, followed by brief recorded message put out by the team from the side of his hospital bed after the crash.