Williams to review Sainz penalty with FIA, says James Vowles

Sainz misfortune continues with Lawson contact

In many ways, the Dutch GP was an ideal race for teals further down the order.

With multiple Safety Cars and drivers big names suffering DNFs, big points were on the table.

Albon in 5th and Bearman in 6th (starting from the pit-lane) were among the big winners last weekend.

Carlos Sainz was not in this group, as an incident with Liam Lawson ruined his chances of points.

An attempted overtake ended in disaster for Sainz, who tried to go around the outside of the VCARB in Turn 1.

Lawson had a snap that drifted him wide and directly into the Spaniard, damaging both cars.

The pair were forced to limp into the pits, at which point they were lapped.

Even a late Safety Car, caused by Lando Norris’ retirement, was not enough to bring Sainz and Lawson back into the points.

Sainz’s opinion on the clash was quite clear, vocalising his frustration with Lawson on team radio.

Only a few minutes later, the 31-year-old was given a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision.

Unsurprisingly, this news was not well-received by Sainz. The Spaniard described the decision as “the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in my life.”

He then declared his intention to discuss the incident with the stewards post-race.

As he revealed in an interview, though, this discussion never took place.

According to Sainz, he was informed the stewards did not want to go over the incident after the chequered flag.

Vowles gives his view on Sainz incident

Sainz’s disappointment in Zandvoort was the latest chapter of his difficult year with Williams.

On paper, there was every reason for the #55 car to come away with a big result.

His pace throughout the weekend was strong, and would have ordinarily ended in points.

In a race where many of the front-runners dropped out, Sainz will be even more irritated with his result.

Team principal James Vowles has consistently praised the abilities of his drivers this year.

The former Mercedes strategist is convinced that his duo is among the strongest in Formula 1.

Unfortunately for Vowles results continue to escape his star signing.

Perhaps more so than other races, the Dutch GP will be a difficult pill for Sainz to swallow.

Ahead of this weekend’s action in Italy, James Vowles says Williams will speak with the stewards about their decision to penalise Sainz:

“Carlos didn’t put a foot wrong this weekend.

“He qualified brilliantly and was racing at the front – and I’m confident that without the incident with Lawson, he would have been in contention for P5.

“From my view, that was a racing incident and didn’t warrant a penalty.

“It’s something we’ll review with the FIA to understand better how we go racing, going forward.”