Steiner: Sainz deserved standard penalty for Piastri clash in Hungary

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has criticized the stewards' decision to hand Carlos Sainz a reduced five-second penalty for colliding with Oscar Piastri while being lapped at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Steiner insists Sainz deserved the standard 10-second sanction, arguing that FIA software failures should not have been treated as mitigating circumstances.

Why it matters:

The clash has renewed scrutiny over backmarker interference with race leaders. Steiner argues applying the full penalty is vital to uphold precedent, even if Sainz's result was unaffected. For Piastri, the contact proved costly; he later retired with a gearbox issue while teammate Lando Norris won.

The Details:

• Sainz failed to yield to Piastri at the Hungaroring, making contact that compromised the McLaren driver's race before his eventual retirement.
• Stewards issued a five-second penalty instead of the usual 10 seconds, citing a faulty GPS system and blue flag software glitches.
• On The Red Flags Podcast, Steiner rejected the reasoning. "Don't try mitigating circumstances. It was clearly a blue flag. 10 seconds is standard," he said.
• Steiner suggested the FIA used the technical excuse to mask its own systems failing at a critical moment.
• Sainz remains 15th in the standings with six points, while Piastri holds seventh with 92.

What's next:

With the paddock on summer break before returning at Zandvoort, questions over race control reliability remain. The debate around blue flag enforcement is expected to resurface at the Dutch Grand Prix.