Peter Windsor and former Formula 1 race engineer Mark Slade have criticised the FIA’s penalty decision regarding Carlos Sainz following his collision with Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The incident, which occurred last weekend, saw Sainz receive a five-second time penalty.
The collision took place at Turn 2 during the race as Piastri, battling for the lead with McLaren teammate Lando Norris, attempted to lap Sainz. Sainz, driving for Williams, was simultaneously engaged in a battle with Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin.
Reports indicate Sainz passed at least seven trackside blue flag warnings prior to the contact. His team had also informed him via radio about Piastri’s approach.
Sainz defended his actions, citing an ‘issue with the blue flags’ system’ and claiming Piastri was in his ‘blind spot’. He also stated he did not receive blue lights on his steering wheel, which he typically relies on during on-track battles.
The automatic blue flag system experienced a malfunction early in the race, leading to erroneous signals. This system was subsequently paused and managed manually by marshals, increasing the reliance on team radio communications.
Despite Sainz’s explanations, the stewards deemed him ‘wholly responsible’ for the collision. However, they reduced the standard 10-second penalty to five seconds.
The FIA cited ‘limited visibility’ for Sainz due to his car’s positioning as a mitigating circumstance, which they believed ‘reduced the degree of culpability’.
Windsor and Slade have publicly stated that this penalty was ‘completely out of proportion’. Their criticism extends to both Sainz’s actions and the race control’s handling of the situation.
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher also expressed strong disapproval of the penalty. He called the five-second sanction ‘not enough’ and described Sainz’s driving as ‘an absolute no-go’.
Schumacher further demanded that Sainz face additional punishment, specifically a grid penalty for qualifying at the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix, to establish a clear precedent against such incidents.
This incident marks another recent penalty for Sainz. Earlier this season, he received an official warning at the Hungarian Grand Prix Free Practice 1 for impeding Max Verstappen.
During that practice session, Sainz was braking early on the racing line to warm his brakes, despite experiencing radio communication issues. The stewards acknowledged the radio problems but maintained he should not have been on the racing line.
Additionally, Sainz incurred a ‘penalty lap’ at the British Grand Prix for an incorrect Safety Car unlapping procedure. This resulted in him dropping from 12th to 17th in the final classification.
