Carlos Sainz overruled as untelevised team orders disagreement uncovered
Williams driver Carlos Sainz prepares for the start of the 2025 Italian Grand Prix
Untelevised team radio footage from the Italian Grand Prix has uncovered the moment Carlos Sainz was overruled by the Williams pit wall during a disagreement over team orders.
The Italian Grand Prix was defined by team orders with McLaren’s call for Oscar Piastri to swap position with teammate Lando Norris proving the biggest talking point of the race.
Carlos Sainz overruled by Williams in untelevised team radio messages
That came after Sainz and his Williams team were involved in a disagreement over team orders earlier in the race at Monza.
Sainz and teammate Alex Albon were running eighth and ninth respectively in the early stages when the former began to struggle on medium tyres.
With Albon on hards, Williams asked Sainz to swap places with his teammate shortly after the Spaniard made a mistake and cut across the run-off area at the second chicane.
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Williams’ request was initially met with resistance by Sainz, who pleaded with his race engineer Gaetan Jego to pit him at the end of Lap 24 to prevent him from losing race time by easing his pace to carry out the swap.
The full exchange, only a snippet of which was aired during the global coverage of the Italian Grand Prix, went as follows:
Jego: “So, instruction: Let Alex through into Turn 4. Keep the racing line and stay in his DRS.”
Sainz: “Yeah, but why don’t we box in that case? Box me at the end of this lap.”
Sainz: “Box me. And then I don’t have to lose the race time.”
Jego: “OK, so instruction: Lift into Turn 4, lift into Turn 4. You’re still making progress compared to the cars [behind]. We want to extend. So into Turn 4, keep the racing line. Instruction this lap, please.”
Sainz: “I think there’s more to win by… guys, I don’t agree. Please.”
Jego: “OK, the situation if you box now, you’re behind five cars in a DRS train and you’re gonna be stuck in a DRS train. Their pace is not good enough, so you’re still pulling away from them. I think we need to stay out and follow the instruction.”
Sainz: “Copy. Let’s see if Alex can pull [me along with] the DRS. OK.”
Jego: “Yeah, because if Alex is quicker he will pull you. So let’s try that, OK? Into Turn 4, this lap.”
Sainz followed the team’s instruction on Lap 25, holding the inside line through Curva Grande to allow Albon to slip by into the second chicane.
Albon went on to claim his fourth points finish in the last six races by claiming seventh place, with Sainz coming home 11th after a late tangle with Oliver Bearman’s Haas.
Speaking after the race, Sainz explained that he was seeking a full understanding of the race situation before he committed to the swap.
He told PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher and other publications at Monza: “I needed perspective and the big picture of the race, what was happening, before we did the move.
“And once they explained, I let him by.”
More on Carlos Sainz and Williams from PlanetF1.com
Sainz was previously left annoyed by a Williams team orders call at the Miami Grand Prix in May.
The Spaniard was angered to have fallen behind Albon in Miami having been left under the impression that his teammate, who was nursing a reliability issue, would remain behind him.
In an emotional team radio message at the chequered flag: Sainz said: “That’s not how I go racing, guys. I don’t care. I don’t care. I’ve lost a lot of confidence here on everything.”
James Vowles, the Williams team principal, later vowed to “significantly tighten up” inter-team communication going forward.
Read next: Ranked: Five of the most infamous team orders calls in F1 history
