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

AUSTIN, Texas – Carlos Sainz will face a five-place grid penalty for the Mexican Grand Prix. This sanction is a consequence of an incident that occurred in 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 at the apex of the curve. The impact forced Sainz to retire from the race due to the damage suffered to his single-seater. For his part, Antonelli, although affected by the incident, managed to recover and 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 was given a 10-second penalty and two points on his superlicense.

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

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 detailed that Sainz argued that he expected Antonelli to leave him space at the apex. However, the stewards determined that, according to the guidelines, Sainz had not earned the right to have space in that area of the track. Therefore, it was concluded that Sainz was primarily responsible for the collision.