The incident occurred after a safety car period in Zandvoort, when Sainz placed his car on the outside of Lawson at Turn 1 in the hope of opening an opportunity to overtake in the following corners. The stewards decided to penalize Sainz for the resulting collision based on a strict interpretation of the guidelines on driving rules, which state that a car overtaking on the outside is only entitled to space at the exit of the corner if “its front axle is ahead of the other car’s front axle at the apex”. At no point in the Sainz movement did his front axle align with or go ahead of Lawson’s, which meant that the resulting collision was considered his fault. Sainz stated in a press conference on Thursday in Monza that he visited the stewards after the race to discuss the decision and affirmed that they saw the incident differently after listening to him.We can confirm that we have submitted a right of review to the FIA regarding Carlos’ penalty in Zandvoort. It is important for us to understand how to race in the future, and we hope for a positive outcome.
Williams Spokesperson
Sainz added: “I think they have an incredibly difficult job, and sometimes they also have restricted time. I think what happened in my case in Zandvoort was a consequence of trying to rush a decision without delving into the analysis. If you simply apply the rule of the regulations, you could understand why they would want to penalize me. The moment you analyze the onboard images and go into detail, you can clearly see why I should never have received a penalty.”I had the opportunity to sit with them for 15 minutes to analyze the incident. I was very clear that, as soon as they obtained all the correct evidence and looked at the places where they had to make the right decision, it became clear to me that I think they realized that probably the decision made was not the best.
Carlos Sainz
