The former team principal of Haas Formula 1, Guenther Steiner, has stated that Carlos Sainz should have received a harsher penalty for his collision with Oscar Piastri during the Hungarian Grand Prix.
During the race at the Hungaroring, Sainz made contact with Piastri’s McLaren while being lapped. Piastri had come into the pits from the lead of the race, but Sainz did not yield the position. This action led to the stewards imposing a five-second penalty.
The penalty was considered lenient, given that there were several technical issues during the race. The FIA mentioned a faulty GPS system and a failure in the blue flag software as mitigating factors.
In his appearance on the podcast The Red Flags, Steiner dismissed this justification, arguing that a stricter penalty should be applied to set an appropriate precedent for lapped drivers. “This wouldn’t have changed anything,” he noted, emphasizing that Sainz was already in the lower part of the standings.
Steiner added that mitigating circumstances should not be relevant in this case: “A ten-second penalty is the standard and he should have received it. It doesn’t matter what happened with the systems.”
The collision had serious consequences for Piastri, diminishing his chances of victory, while his teammate, Lando Norris, took the lead. Piastri ultimately had to retire from the race due to a gearbox issue.
After the race, Sainz finished in 18th place. He currently occupies the 15th position in the drivers’ championship with a total of six points, while Piastri is seventh with 92 points.
Formula 1 will return to action with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort from August 21 to 23.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI