Sainz confirmed he was okay after the accident and apologised to his team over the radio.
With the Spaniard set to start Sunday's race well down the order, the team's chances in the constructors' championship have undoubtedly taken a blow after their recent resurgence.
The crash caused a headache for Lando Norris, who was down in the elimination zone at the time of Sainz's Q2 exit.
With McLaren expecting rain to hit the latter part of Q2, it was a rush to get the championship challenger back out on the track and improve to reach the pole position shootout.