Williams submits right of review petition over controversial Carlos Sainz penalty
Carlos Sainz arrived at Monza still believing his punishment at Zandvoort was unjust.
Williams has confirmed the team has submitted a petition for a right of review into the 10-second penalty awarded to Carlos Sainz at Zandvoort, after contact with Liam Lawson.
Sainz had looked to move around the outside of Turn 1 while the pair battled at Zandvoort last weekend, but contact left both drivers with punctures, and split opinions on who was at fault. The stewards, however, decided Sainz was to blame, handing him a 10-second penalty and two penalty points on his Super Licence.
Williams review Carlos Sainz penalty after Liam Lawson contact
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
The Williams driver was not best pleased at being informed of his penalty at the weekend, believing firmly that Lawson was the driver at fault for their contact – while the Racing Bulls driver saw it the other way around.
When approached for comment by PlanetF1.com, Williams confirmed it is seeking a change in outcome to the penalty, saying in a statement: “We can confirm we have submitted a right of review to the FIA relating to Carlos’ penalty in Zandvoort. It is important for us to understand how to go racing in future, and we are hopeful of a positive outcome.”
While Sainz served his penalty in-race and would not see his race position improve if the penalty is overturned, there is the possibility that the two Super Licence points he was awarded could be struck off, with Williams’ appeal looking to effectively clear Sainz of wrongdoing on his part.
Having said he sought a meeting with the race stewards following the chequered flag, Sainz confirmed he was able to discuss his incident at Zandvoort.
In doing so, he believes the stewards would not have reached the same conclusion in the fullness of time, adding that he and the team are looking for ways to potentially try to “change the outcome of the penalty”, if possible.
“I had the opportunity to go and sit with [the stewards] for 15 minutes to analyse the incident,” Sainz told PlanetF1.com and others media outlets at Monza.
“It was very clear to me that as soon as they got all the evidence right and they looked at the places that they would have needed to look at to take the right decision, it was very clear to me that I think they realised that probably the decision taken wasn’t the best one.
“Now, we are trying to see if we can come up with enough evidence to realise if we can change the outcome of the penalty, because I still firmly believe it was a very poor penalty that I received in a bad judgment – which can happen, as long as you have the capacity to revisit it.
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“And if there’s been a misunderstanding or a lack of evidence or a lack of analysis, then there is still time to re-analyse it, to reopen it and change it.
“I do believe they had a very difficult Sunday. Looking back at it, they had a very busy afternoon, and if it was overwhelming because of the amount of stuff that happened in the race or not, I still definitely firmly believe what I thought after the race – obviously now in a much cooler-headed state, but I still firmly believe the penalty was not acceptable, and I made it very clear.”
In discussing his penalty, Sainz added his personal belief that permanent stewards should be in place in Formula 1, given the demands of the job and the need for consistency in the sport’s policing.
When asked if the FIA and the stewards are approachable and amenable to changes in controversial incidents such as this, the Williams driver replied: “It’s very tough. I, especially after the race, try to do my best to obviously control my emotions and everything, but there are moments where it’s very difficult to control them, and it’s very difficult to understand certain things.
“I’ve always said it, and I will always support the idea that in F1 we should have fixed stewards and people, if the regulations are already incredibly complex, it would be very useful to have always the same people judging them and applying them, because then you know more or less what you’re dealing with and everything. But my belief is that’s the way forward. I’m not speaking in name of the GPDA [Grand Prix Drivers’ Association] or anyone here, That’s my individual belief.
“I think they have an incredibly difficult job, and sometimes they also have restricted time.
“I think what happened in my individual case in Zandvoort was a consequence of also trying to rush a decision without looking deep enough in the analysis of what happened in the incident once you look at it into detail.
“I mean, if you just apply the rule that there is in the rule book, you could potentially understand why they would want to penalise me. The moment you analyse the onboard footage and you go into the detail of what happened, you can clearly see why I should have never got a penalty.”
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