FIA overturns Sainz penalty after Zandvoort racing incident ruling

The FIA stewards have overturned two penalty points given to Carlos Sainz after a collision with Liam Lawson at the Dutch Grand Prix, ruling the clash a racing incident while leaving the race classification unchanged. The decision came after Williams filed a Right of Review and presented new onboard camera footage and testimony at hearings last week in the run-up to the Italian Grand Prix.

The contact occurred on Lap 26 at Zandvoort shortly after a Safety Car restart, when Sainz attempted an outside pass on Lawson through the long radius Turn 1. The two cars touched, causing a left rear puncture to Lawson and front wing damage to Sainz, and both drivers ultimately finished outside the points. Race stewards on the day initially judged that Lawson had the right to the corner and handed Sainz a 10 second time penalty and two penalty points on his FIA Super Licence.

Williams lodged a formal review under Article 14 of the FIA Sporting Code, arguing that new evidence was available that had not been considered at the time of the original decision. The team supplied 360 degree camera footage from both cars and Sainz also gave testimony. After examining the new material and hearing from...