Carlos Sainz hits out at “stupid risks” from F1 rivals: ‘How can a veteran like Nico do this?’

Carlos Sainz said his Formula 1 rivals took “stupid risks” in the Monaco Grand Prix, after collisions with Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto caused his retirement.

Sainz’ race unravelled at the second standing start following the late red flag, which he took from 10th place. The Williams driver had maintained that position by the time he tackled the Loews hairpin on the outside of team-mate Alex Albon, but as he came out of the corner his trajectory intersected Hulkenberg’s, with the Audi on a tighter line.

Sainz’ car was pinged into the wall, with a substantial hit to the right-rear corner. The seemingly ailing Williams trundled along for the shortest of moments as Colapinto attempted – and failed – to pass it into Portier, spinning Sainz around. The latter therefore retired.

“I was on route to score another couple of points this weekend with a solid race, but unfortunately people at the restart just decided to take stupid risks,” the Spaniard commented.

“My race was over in a corner like Turn 6 that we’ve raced around here hundreds of times and we know it always bunches up; people are going for the dream move, get it wrong sometimes and I was the victim of it.

“To throw all the effort of the team and two points to the bin is very frustrating.”

Asked by Motorsport about potentially talking to Hulkenberg about his move, Sainz replied: “No, not yet. There is maybe something to say because it’s quite impressive that with so much experience around a track like this that every year it bunches up in Loews, people still can do these kinds of mistakes. It’s textbook Monaco, and you fall into the same mistakes sometimes.”

But Hulkenberg didn’t quite have the same view on the incident.

“I had to kind of avoid a crash with [Ocon],” the Audi driver recounted, “therefore ended up on the very inside, all the way up on Loews corner on the kerb, full steering lock, then somehow inevitable Carlos came around, and obviously made contact… Racing.

“It was carnage. It was pretty heated and it was pretty difficult there to not hit something or someone.”

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team

Photo by: Alex Bierens de Haan / LAT Images via Getty Images

Still, stewards determined Hulkenberg was to blame for the incident and gave him a 10-second penalty that dropped him out of a potential ninth place. The stewards’ report didn’t quite explain the reasoning for the decision.

Meanwhile, Colapinto wasn’t asked about his own incident with Sainz in the media pen, but was quoted as apologising in Alpine’s post-race press release.

“We were all avoiding one of the Williams who was going slow on the racing line after the hairpin and I touched Carlos [Sainz], so sorry for him,” the Argentine said.

Stewards acknowledged that Sainz “was collided with by Car 43” but still decided no further action was warranted as the collision “was caused by the unexpected change of direction of Car 55”.

Additional reporting by Livia Veiga

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