The FIA has changed the penalty handed to Carlos Sainz in F1 Dutch GP after Williams exercised its ‘right to review’, as his penalty points is removed.
The move at Turn 1 during F1 Dutch GP at Zandvoort resulted in a disaster for not only Williams’ Sainz, but also Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson. They both dropped to the back of the pack while in contention for points. On top of it, the Spaniard was deemed wholly responsible for the incident.
The stewards noted that Sainz was taking the outside line and so responsible party since his front axle wasn’t at par with Lawson into Turn 1. The Spaniard was not too pleased but served the 10s time penalty during the grand prix, while two points were added on his superlicense.
Post-race, he had a chat with the stewards and felt fine having convinced them of his innocence. Williams took the opportunity to right to review which was heard on September 12 virtually. The representatives of both the teams were present along with Sainz and Lawson.
The same set of stewards was in as well along with FIA F1 head Tim Malyon. Additionally, the representatives of McLaren and Aston Martin requested their presence to observe the proceedings, which was granted. Williams presented new evidences, which were:
- footage from the 360° camera on Car 55.
- footage from the rear facing camera on Car 30.
- testimony from the Driver of Car 55.
The footage was not available at the time of stewards’ decision as it had to be downloaded from the car after the grand prix. Williams shared details of the incident showcasing the footage, which was deemed to be new evidence by the officials to allow the proceedings to progress.
Further evidences included testimonies of the drivers, which wasn’t deemed as useful. Williams acknowledged that the front axle of Sainz was not ahead of Lawson, but they noted that the Spaniard gave enough space to the Kiwi and that he had the right to attempt the move.
They showed that Lawson had a momentary snap in the corner, which led to the collision. Williams wasn’t looking for the Kiwi to be penalised though. Lawson argued that such snap is normal when racing so closely. Visa Cash App RB stressed that Sainz was given space even though it wasn’t required.
Following the discussions, the panel agreed that the collision happened due to the sudden snap, for which Lawson wasn’t to be blamed. As such, they took back the penalty. It hasn’t changed the position after 10s was taken off Sainz’s total time. They key omission is the two penalty points.
“We are grateful to the stewards for reviewing Carlos’ Zandvoort penalty and are pleased they have now decided he was not at fault and that this was a racing incident,” said Williams in a statement.
“While it is frustrating that our race was compromised by the original decision, mistakes are part of motor racing and we will continue to work constructively with the FIA to improve stewarding processes and review the racing rules for the future.”
Here’s decision in full from FIA: https://www.fia.com/system/files/decision-document/2025_dutch_grand_prix_-_decision_-_williams_petition_for_right_of_review_.pdf
Here’s what was said after the race
Here’s Carlos Sainz and co about the penalty
Here’s Williams in Pirelli test
Here’s Williams pair on Italian GP
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Here’s information on IndyCar not hosting a Mexican race in 2026: https://www.indycar.com/news/2025/09/09-13-mexico-city-update
