Carlos Sainz will serve a five-place grid penalty at the Mexican Grand Prix after the stewards ruled that he was predominantly to blame for the collision with Andrea Kimi Antonelli during the United States Grand Prix.
On lap seven, the Williams driver attempted to pass Antonelli on the inside of Turn 15, lunging towards the apex of the corner as the Mercedes rookie did the same. Making contact with the Brackley machinery, Sainz’s car sustained substantial damage, forcing him to come to a stop and retire from the race. Antonelli, while able to continue his Austin campaign, suffered minor damage.
With the incident sent to the stewards after the race, they found Sainz in breach of the FIA International Sporting Code. They explained, “At no point prior to the apex was the front axle of Car 55 alongside or ahead of the mirror of Car 12. Therefore, according to the Driving Standards Guidelines, Car 55 had not earned a right to be left space at the apex.”
On this basis, the Williams driver was to blame.
With Sainz unable to finish the race, the stewards converted what would have been a time penalty into a grid penalty equal to that of a 10-second penalty. In practice, that’s a five-place grid drop. On top of this, he has received two penalty points on his superlicence, taking him to a total of four within the current 12-month period.
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
“I mean, Carlos launched… fair enough – but that would have not… you can’t expect the driver to back out of the situation so late into the cornering phase,” Mercedes chief Toto Wolff told the media ahead of the confirmed penalty.
“I think he’s pretty clear, just very optimistic,” Antonelli told the press. “It’s just a shame that I got taken out. Yeah, that’s it. The race was ruined and it was difficult then.”
Explaining the damage his car sustained, he admitted he found it difficult following the contact.
“It was a bit scrappy. I had a lot of vibration. I hit a little bit of the wall with the rear wing. I don’t know if it was damage, but also I had quite a lot of vibration. So I need to check if the car was fully fine. It was difficult.
“I think pace was OK when I was in free air. But then obviously in dirty air, especially today the tag was big, it was difficult.”
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