Carlos Sainz finds new ally with Liam Lawson blamed for Dutch GP clash
Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson do not agree over the stewards' Dutch GP verdict
Alex Albon said he had the best view in the house for an incident between Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson. It was a coming together which triggered a penalty for Sainz, Albon’s Williams team-mate.
Sainz cut an extremely disgruntled figure having been the driver punished at the Dutch Grand Prix, and Albon believes the Spaniard has every right to be. In Albon’s opinion, Lawson was the driver clearly at fault.
Alex Albon backs furious Carlos Sainz over Dutch GP penalty
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Lawson took the inside line into Turn 1, as Sainz looked to persist around the outside. That would have become the inside line into Turn 2.
However, the door closed for Sainz through the T1 exit. The front-right of his Williams made contact with the rear left of Lawson’s Racing Bulls machine. That allowed Sainz’s Williams team-mate Albon to sweep through and pick up two positions, on his way to a P5 finish.
The stewards decided to issue a 10-second penalty to Sainz for causing a collision, while they also added two penalty points to the Spaniard’s superlicence. It was a decision which Sainz labelled “unacceptable“.
Having seen it unfold, Albon was in complete agreement.
“To me, it’s quite clearly Liam’s fault,” said Albon as he spoke with media, including PlanetF1.com, about the collision.
“So, I don’t know why Carlos got the penalty.
“I think I had the best view out of everyone. It looked to me like in the middle of the corner, Liam opened the wheel. Kind of just drove Carlos out to dry. I don’t know where Carlos could have gone.
“So I think especially a decision like that, if they’re unsure, should be left to the stewards after the race. But I think it was a wrong decision anyway.”
More on Carlos Sainz v Liam Lawson from PlanetF1.com
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Lawson was less surprised by the decision of the stewards.
Informed that Sainz was not very happy, Lawson replied: “I’m sure he’s not. Obviously, I’m not stoked either. Ruined my day.
“The rules are written as they are, and we know how they’re written, and I’ve been on the receiving end this year as well, where I was going for an overtake and thought that I should be given space, and I wasn’t, and I got a penalty.
“So it’s something that we learn from. We all know this. It’s lap one, on a restart, it’s super slippery, cold tyres, and, you know, it’s fine to go for the move, but it’s just risky, and we made contact, which was not ideal, but that’s why he got a penalty.”
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