Sainz, penalized: 5 grid positions in the Mexico GP after collision with Antonelli

Sainz Penalized for Collision with Antonelli at the United States Grand Prix

Austin, Texas – Carlos Sainz will face a five-place grid penalty at the Mexican Grand Prix following an incident at the United States Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver was penalized for a collision with Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes during Sunday’s race. The incident occurred when Sainz was trying to overtake Antonelli on the inside at Turn 15, aiming for seventh position. Upon braking, he locked his tires, causing contact at the apex of the corner. Sainz was forced to abandon the race due to the damage suffered to his car. For his part, Antonelli, although he fell in the classification, managed to recover and finish in thirteenth position. The stewards, following the Driving Standards Guidelines, determined that Sainz was responsible for the collision, imposing a 10-second penalty and two points on his superlicense.

Since Sainz did not finish the race, the time penalty turned into a five-place grid penalty for the next race in Mexico.

Car number 55 [Sainz] attempted an overtake on the inside of car number 12 [Antonelli] at turn 15 and a collision occurred between the two cars at the apex.

Stewards’ statement

In the stewards’ statement, it was explained that Sainz argued that he expected Antonelli to leave him space at the apex, but that Antonelli turned in too early and Sainz locked the brakes when he realized that the collision was inevitable. However, the stewards determined that, according to the guidelines, Sainz had not earned the right to have space at the apex, so he was considered the main culprit of the collision.