Sainz found guilty of the same yellow flag offence twice in one Baku day: the FP3 warning he ignored

During Friday morning's final practice session, a single yellow was displayed in marshalling sector 6 shortly before Sainz entered the zone, near Turn 4. According to the stewards' document, Sainz explained that he briefly noticed a light signal in his peripheral vision but was not certain it was yellow. Onboard footage showed a yellow warning light had flashed on his steering wheel, but Sainz said he was unable to fully attend to the warning.

After approaching Turn 4, Sainz braked slightly but then accelerated to the rev limiter on the straight while still in the yellow flag sector, later admitting he had misread a green light seen in the distance. The stewards determined that he had not slowed enough but issued only a reprimand, citing the very short time interval between the yellow flag being displayed and Sainz entering the affected sector. It was his second reprimand of the season, with drivers facing an automatic ten-place grid penalty if they accumulate five.

No such mitigation was present in the qualifying incident. Yellow flags were displayed in marshalling sectors 4 and 5, after Turn 2 and on the approach to Turn 3, after Lando Norris went off into the escape road. Williams warned Sainz over the radio with a clear message: "Yellow ahead, lift." Sainz confirmed at the hearing that he was aware of the yellow flag situation.

Sainz argued that he had intended a reduction in speed across the yellow area as a whole, stating he did not consider it necessary to slow on the straight and instead planned to demonstrate his response when approaching and exiting Turn 3. He described this as a "global lift" covering the consecutive yellow sectors. The stewards rejected this defence outright, ruling that a driver must demonstrate a significant reduction in speed inside each individual yellow flag sector, and that a later reaction cannot compensate for failing to slow in the preceding area.

The telemetry made the case undeniable: Sainz recorded his fastest time of the session in marshalling sector 4, the very zone where yellow flags demanded caution. The stewards therefore did not accept that his subsequent lift in sector 5 constituted a sufficient response covering both sectors. Sainz was also handed two penalty points on his licence, taking him to four for the 12-month period. As GPblog's full grid breakdown details, Williams' first Q3 appearance of 2026 now counts for little as Sainz starts from 14th.