Carlos Sainz punishment confirmed by FIA after Hungarian Grand Prix investigation

Williams driver Carlos Sainz has been given a warning by the FIA stewards after an investigation into an incident with Max Verstappen in practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Sainz found himself under investigation after FP1 following an incident with Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz gets warning after FIA investigation into Max Verstappen incident

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The Williams driver was moving slowly on the racing line on the straight between Turns 11 and 12 when Verstappen arrived on the scene, forcing the Red Bull to take avoiding action.

Sainz appeared to point to a problem with his team radio communications, telling the Williams pit wall: “Radio check. I had no radio. Cable disconnected.”

Sainz found himself under investigation after the session for driving erratically, with it emerging that the Spaniard did not hear separate warnings from his race engineer that Verstappen was approaching as a result of his problems with team radio.

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However, the stewards decided that Sainz should not have been warming the brakes on the racing line while struggling with communication issues, imposing an official warning on the Williams driver.

The stewards’ report read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 55 (Carlos Sainz), the driver of Car 3 (Max Verstappen) and their team representatives and reviewed video, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.

“On the straight approaching turn 12, Car 55 was on the racing line and braked early as Car 3 approached from behind on a push lap.

“Car 3 had to move to the right to avoid a collision.

“Team radio recorded the engineer having warned the driver of Car 55 of Car 3’s approach more than once but the driver of Car 55 explained that the cable to his radio was disconnected and hence he did not hear those messages.

“He said that he was preparing for a push lap and braked earlier for turn 12 to warm his brakes.

“The driver of Car 3 said he was surprised to find Car 55 travelling so slowly on the line but he did not consider the incident to be dangerous.

“The Stewards acknowledged that the driver of Car 55 was experiencing radio problems which explained why he did not hear the warning of Car 3’s approach.

“However, in circumstances where the driver was without the benefit of warnings from the team, he ought not to have been preparing his brakes on the racing line and, by doing so, he hindered Car 3.

“As the incident occurred during Free Practice and did not in fact endanger the driver of Car 3, the Stewards determined to impose a warning.”

As reported by PlanetF1.com, Verstappen escaped a penalty for his role in the incident having slowed on the exit of Turn 12.

After an impressive first season with Williams in 2025, which saw him claim two podium finishes as the team claimed fifth place in the constructors’ championship, Sainz has endured a troubled F1 2026 campaign.

The former Ferrari driver sits 15th in the championship with just six points so far this year.

Sainz has been limited to just points finishes, coming home ninth in China, Miami and Canada.

Williams has not scored a point since teammate Alex Albon finished eighth in Monaco seven weeks ago.

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