Carlos Sainz responds to ‘black and white’ decision after FIA penalty overturned

Carlos Sainz described the overturning of two penalty points for contact with Liam Lawson in Zandvoort was a “black and white” decision.

Williams presented new evidence to the stewards last week, and while Sainz’s on-track time penalty could not be removed, as it had already been served, the two penalty points he was given for the incident have now been removed from his Super Licence.

Carlos Sainz responds as FIA stewards overturn penalty points

Sainz was open with his frustrations after being awarded a penalty at all in the Netherlands, as he and Lawson both suffered punctures during contact between the two.

With the Williams driver having been punished initially, the team submitted a petition to a right to review the penalty. Where usually these are rejected, stewards accepted the review and came to the conclusion that the significant and new evidence presented was enough to take action.

Reflecting on the ruling, Sainz was clear in his view.

“I think after Zandvoort you saw me obviously quite upset about the whole situation,” he said to reporters in Baku.

“I was very convinced that we had a point and we had an opportunity, and especially when I went after the race to speak to the stewards that they were actually quite open to the discussion and to let me keep my POV [point of view].

“I could tell that they also had a good conversation and realisation that maybe the judgment was not fully correct, and the fact that the FIA gave us the opportunity to, and there were enough mechanisms to open the discussion again, I think is a positive step. And the fact that they even took the opportunity to revert or cancel the penalty points and the penalty itself is a good sign.

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“I’m not saying every case and every scenario should be the same, but I think cases that is pretty obvious, like that one, I think is good to see that there are mechanisms and ways to revert.

“In this case, for me, sorry, but it was black and white. There should never be a penalty for what happened in Zandvoort that I think it was so obvious that the moment we presented one or two cases of new evidence like we did, it was enough to open the discussion again and get it to correct.”

The much-discussed driving guidelines were under the microscope amid Sainz’s collision with Lawson, with contact between Charles Leclerc and George Russell in the same race having been judged a racing incident.

What the Williams driver pointed out, however, is the distinction between the racing regulations and the recommendations used for racing.

“I think we cannot forget the fact of a very important word, that is guidelines,” he explained.

“I think guideline is not a rule. It’s a guideline to how to judge an incident. There’s not a rule that says I cannot go around the outside of a corner.

“There’s a guideline to say if you are at the outside of the corner and you don’t back out of it and the two cars collide, it’s very likely that you will be the car penalised. But it’s a guideline, not a rule.

“Why? Because the perfect example is Zandvoort. If a car on the inside loses control of the car and creates the accident, there’s nothing wrong with you trying to be around the outside of a corner if you don’t create a crash.

“I’ve been racing my whole life. In the car, if I’m honest, I don’t think about the guidelines. I think more about clean racing and what I think is fair.”

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