Former F1 driver demands further punishment for Sainz after Hungarian GP clash
Carlos Sainz - Photo: Race Pictures
Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
Ralf Schumacher has called for Carlos Sainz to be handed an additional penalty, after he received only a five-second penalty for colliding with Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Sainz was battling with Fernando Alonso when de facto race leader Piastri closed in on the Williams driver to lap him. Piastri had not long pitted and was on track to stay ahead of Lando Norris when his McLaren teammate had also come in for his pit stop.
However, his chances of staying ahead fell apart, when Sainz clattered into Piastri after failing to spot the McLaren driver in his wing mirrors. Sainz believed there was "something wrong in the system" regarding where blue flags were shown and even said Piastri should have been more "cautious" when trying to lap him.
However, on board footage showed Sainz driving past at least seven blue panels before colliding with Piastri. A five-second penalty did not do much to affect Sainz's race, while Piastri ultimately lost the race lead to Norris, before a gearbox issue put him out of the race altogether.
Speaking to Sky Deutschland, Schumacher said: “It’s something that makes you furious. None of them were competing for the points. Then the leader of the race comes, and Sainz drove into his car.
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“An absolute no-go from my point of view. A normal punishment is not enough. For me, Carlos Sainz should be punished for the next race. In qualifying at Zandvoort, he has to get one, because otherwise, this will set a precedent; it must not happen at all.”
Why the stewards handed Sainz a lighter penalty
Sainz received a more lenient penalty at the Hungarian Grand Prix than what the FIA's standard penalty guidelines would normally prescribe for causing a collision with another driver.
The standard penalty for causing a collision is 10 seconds, but this was reduced to five as, according to their verdict, Sainz was unable to see Piastri before the Australian attempted the overtake due to his positioning on the track.
Sainz had been warned over the radio that Piastri was approaching, but the stewards accepted that his limited visibility reduced his degree of culpability.
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