Williams to Challenge Carlos Sainz's Dutch GP Penalty

Williams is preparing to lodge a "right of review" request with the FIA regarding Carlos Sainz's 10-second penalty at the Dutch Grand Prix. Sainz, who believes the decision was a "bad judgment," remains adamant that he was unfairly sanctioned for his collision with Liam Lawson.

Why it matters

Carlos Sainz is convinced that the penalty he received was a poor decision by the stewards, highlighting potential flaws in the stewarding process. Successfully challenging this penalty could set a precedent for future contentious incidents and reinforce the call for more consistent stewarding.

The incident

• Sainz was handed a 10-second penalty for a collision with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson at Turn 1 following a safety car restart.
• F1 guidelines state Sainz wasn't entitled to room as his front axle wasn't alongside Lawson's at the apex.
• However, Sainz argues that Lawson had to correct a slide mid-corner, altering his trajectory towards the Williams car.

The challenge ahead

Williams must file their petition within 96 hours of the race, by Thursday evening. To secure a hearing, they need to present "a significant and relevant new element" that was not available to the stewards at the time of the initial decision.

Sainz's perspective

Sainz engaged in a 15-minute discussion with stewards after the race and became even more convinced of their error. He suggested the decision was rushed without a deep enough analysis of the incident.

"If there's been a misunderstanding or a lack of evidence or a lack of analysis, then there is still time to reanalyse it, to reopen it and change it," Sainz stated.

Call for permanent stewards

Sainz advocates for a permanent steward system in F1 to ensure greater consistency in decision-making, citing recent incidents like Lewis Hamilton's five-place grid drop for Monza as examples of an imperfect process. He believes that with fixed stewards, teams and drivers would have a clearer understanding of how regulations are interpreted and applied.