Carlos Sainz has been handed a five-place grid penalty for the upcoming Mexican GP next weekend. The Williams driver was deemed at fault by the stewards following a collision with Kimi Antonelli during the main race in Austin. Sainz – who had a promising ninth starting position and a potential points finish in sight – had to retire early from the race.
In lap seven of the United States GP, Sainz attempted to snatch seventh place from Antonelli. The Spaniard positioned his Williams on the inside of turn 15, but locked up and collided with the young Italian’s Mercedes. The rookie spun out, while Sainz had to park his damaged car at the edge of the track. Antonelli was able to continue, but the incident resulted in a disappointing thirteenth-place finish.
After the race, the stewards scrutinized the incident. They decided to penalize Sainz with a five-place grid penalty and two penalty points on his license. This brings the total penalty points for the Williams driver to four. In their official statement, the stewards wrote: “Car 55 attempted to overtake car 12 from the inside in turn 15. They made contact at the apex. The driver of car 55 was hoping for more space, but the front axle of car 55 was never alongside or ahead of car 12’s mirror. According to the Driving Standards Guidelines, car 55 therefore had no right to space.” The FIA thus held Sainz responsible for the collision, leading to the grid penalty.
Afterwards, Sainz defended his action, although he admitted that the risk this time did not pay off. “I think the incident looks worse than it was,” he explained. “In the end, it was just a small lock-up with big consequences. It’s a shame because we had a good weekend. Of course, you can play it safe and settle for P8, but I was trying to fight for more. Sometimes that works out, sometimes it doesn’t.” The Williams driver added that, in his opinion, Antonelli defended ‘very hard’. “Kimi’s move was on the aggressive side; he kept the door firmly shut. With these wide apexes here, you just have to feel each other out better. We both didn’t quite get it right this time.”
