Carlos Sainz defends blue flag antics after Kimi Antonelli’s US GP complaint

Carlos Sainz has called for F1’s frontrunners to have a bit of patience with the backmarkers, as it’s not always easy to get out of the way when they are shown the blue flag.

Not for the first time this season, Sainz riled up a potential race winner – this time Kimi Antonelli – as the Mercedes driver came up to lap him at the United States Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz explains why F1 drivers struggle with blue flags

Sainz made headlines at the Hungarian Grand Prix when he failed to adhere to blue flags when Oscar Piastri, who was fighting for the race win, stormed up behind him.

The Williams driver remained on the racing line, and the two collided at Turn 2. Sainz was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision.

Piastri called it the “dumbest things” he had ever seen, while Sainz claimed Piastri should’ve “been a bit more careful” given he was the one fighting for the victory.

Sainz was again frustrating another potential race winner at Sunday’s United States Grand Prix as he was shown the blue flags for Antonelli.

Chasing his ninth Grand Prix win of the season on a day when he had his first shot at wrapping up the world title, Antonelli came up behind Sainz on Lap 36 of the 56-lap Grand Prix.

He locked up in the dirty air from Sainz’s Williams and ran off the track.

“Ah this guy!” bemoaned Antonelli. “My god!”

Sainz, meanwhile, told Williams: “I was gonna let Antonelli by, but he locked up.”

Antonelli went on to win the Grand Prix, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, while Sainz, who suffered a broken front wing in a Lap 1 incident with Arvid Lindblad, was 18th.

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Sainz was asked about the blue incident when he spoke with the media after the Grand Prix.

“We’re doing the best we can,” said the 32-year-old.

“The problem is there’s such a big speed difference from the top cars to us. It’s up to three or four seconds.

“So the moment you calculate to let them by, maybe they’ve caught you up quicker than you expected, or vice versa.

“To the top guys, I’ve been in both positions, lapping a lot of people in my Ferrari days. I’m being lapped now, and I can tell you, it’s not easy for the ones having to let people by.

“So bear with us because it’s not like it’s as straightforward as it looks when you’re leading.

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