Sainz Penalized: 5 Places Down on the Grid for the Mexican GP Due to Collision

Sainz Penalized After Crash 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 with Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes in the recent United States Grand Prix. The incident occurred when Sainz was trying to overtake Antonelli on the inside at Turn 15, seeking seventh position. During the maneuver, Sainz locked the brakes, resulting in contact between both single-seaters at the apex of the corner. The crash forced Sainz to abandon the race due to the damage to his vehicle, while Antonelli, although affected, managed to finish in thirteenth position. According to the Driving Standards Guidelines used by the stewards to assess collisions, Sainz was deemed responsible for the incident. He received a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points on his superlicense.

Since Sainz did not finish the race, the time penalty was transformed into a five-place grid penalty for the Mexican Grand Prix.

“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,” stewards stated in a 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 apparent that the collision was inevitable.”