Carlos Sainz Penalized for the Mexican Grand Prix After Crash in Austin
Spanish driver Carlos Sainz has been penalized with five positions on the starting grid for the Mexican Grand Prix. The penalty is due to an incident that occurred during the United States Grand Prix, where he collided with Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes. The incident occurred when Sainz was trying to overtake Antonelli on the inside at turn 15, seeking seventh position. During the maneuver, he locked the brakes, which resulted in contact between both single-seaters. The crash forced Sainz to retire from the race due to the damage to his vehicle. For his part, Antonelli, although he lost positions, managed to finish in 13th place. According to the Driving Standards Guidelines, the stewards determined that Sainz was responsible for the incident. Initially, he was given a 10-second penalty and two points on his super license.
The stewards pointed out that, according to the guidelines, Sainz had not earned the right to have space at the apex, so they determined that he was primarily responsible for the incident and applied the corresponding penalty.Car 55 [Sainz] attempted an overtake on the inside of car 12 [Antonelli] at Turn 15 and a collision occurred between the two cars at the apex,” the stewards explained in their statement. “The driver of car 55 maintained that he expected the driver of car 12 to leave him space at the apex, but car 12 turned in earlier and car 55 locked the brakes when it became clear that the collision was inevitable.
