The FIA has announced the date for the hearing on Carlos Sainz‘s penalty. The Spaniard received a ten-second time penalty in Zandvoort for an incident with Liam Lawson. Sainz immediately called the stewards’ decision ‘a complete joke’ after the race, and received support from team boss James Vowles among others. On Friday, September 12, the stewards will reconsider the incident at the Tarzan corner.
Carlos Sainz received the time penalty at Circuit Zandvoort for a collision with Liam Lawson in turn 1. The New Zealander was on the inside of the Spaniard, but then hit the right front wheel of the Williams driver. Sainz not only ended up with a flat tire and a ten-second time penalty from the incident, but also two penalty points on his racing license. The Madrid-born driver was already unhappy with the stewards’ decision after the race, and received support from team boss James Vowles.
According to the Brit, the incident was a ‘racing incident’, and he therefore does not blame Lawson. “If you watch Lawson’s onboard footage, and not Carlos’s, you see that his head is completely in the mirrors,” Vowles explains to Sky F1. “He’s not looking straight ahead. He’s looking in the mirror at that moment. And when the car skids, it gets caught in the turbulent airflow of the Ferrari and shoots off. You can see that from Carlos’s cockpit. But the car doesn’t smoothly move sideways by turning the steering wheel. It actually shoots a meter across the track, straight at Carlos.”
Date of Hearing
The hearing about Carlos Sainz‘s penalty will take place on Friday, September 12, as announced by the FIA. Representatives from both Williams and Racing Bulls will be present. The hearing consists of two phases. In the first phase, the stewards determine whether Williams’ request for review is admissible. This is only the case if the new evidence meets three requirements: it is significant, relevant, and was not available at the time of assessment for the stewards. Only then is it determined whether there will be a second phase, in which the incident itself is reassessed.
