The Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz has been sanctioned with a rarely seen penalty after the 2026 British Grand Prix, held at Silverstone. The Williams driver made the mistake of incorrectly self-lapping during a safety car period in the last laps of the race.
The race was marked by an accident involving Max Verstappen on lap 46, which meant that the last six laps were run under safety car conditions. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc achieved victory for Ferrari, but Sainz had a much more complicated day.
Although he crossed the finish line in 12th position, after the penalty, he was relegated to 17th position and a lap down. This sanction is due to the fact that, when permission was given for the lapped cars to overtake the safety car, Sainz was not included in this notification and therefore did not have the right to overtake.
The FIA has confirmed that Sainz has become the first driver in F1 history to have a lap added to his final classification as a penalty. In a report from the authorities, it was detailed that, although Sainz’s car was lapped at the safety car line, he had accidentally regained a lap when he crossed the finish line.
Representatives of Williams acknowledged that they made two mistakes: they did not notice that Sainz was not a lapped car at the reference point and also failed to identify that he was not included in the race control message allowing the safety car to be overtaken. This confusion has been attributed to the particular layout of the Silverstone circuit.
Among the consequences, Sainz has been the only Williams driver to finish the race, after his teammate, Alex Albon, retired on lap 43 due to damage from an accident on the first lap. This day should be remembered for both Ferrari’s victory and the controversial sanction against the Spanish driver.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
