Sainz Penalized: Grid Penalty at the Mexican GP for Crash

Sainz Penalized for the Mexican Grand Prix After Crash in Austin

The driver Carlos Sainz will face a five-place grid penalty at the start of the Mexican Grand Prix. This sanction is a consequence of an incident that occurred during the United States Grand Prix, where he collided with Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes. The collision occurred when Sainz was trying to overtake Antonelli on the inside at Turn 15, aiming for seventh position. Upon locking the brakes, contact became inevitable at the apex of the corner. Sainz had to abandon the race due to the damage suffered to his car, while Antonelli, although he dropped in the classification, managed to finish in thirteenth position. The stewards, following the Driving Standards Guidelines, determined that Sainz was responsible for the incident. Initially, he was given a 10-second time penalty and two points on his superlicense.

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

The stewards’ statement indicated that “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”.

Race Stewards

The driver Sainz argued that he expected Antonelli to leave him space at the apex, but the latter closed the racing line. However, the stewards determined that, according to the guidelines, Sainz had not earned the right to have space at the apex, so he was assigned the greater responsibility for the incident.