Williams seeks FIA right of review on Sainz-Lawson licence points

Williams has formally asked the FIA to reopen the case that led to Carlos Sainz receiving a 10 second time penalty and two penalty points for a collision with Liam Lawson at the Dutch Grand Prix, with the governing body scheduling a virtual right of review hearing for Friday, 12 September at 15:30 CEST. The incident occurred at Turn 1 shortly after a safety car restart at Zandvoort, when Sainz attempted an outside pass and the two cars made contact, each sustaining punctures.

The stewards at Zandvoort ruled that Sainz was wholly or predominantly to blame because Lawson had the right to the corner at the apex, and applied a 10 second time penalty plus two points to Sainz’s FIA Super Licence. Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane has publicly accused Sainz of crashing into Lawson and costing his driver fifth place. Sainz and Williams dispute the severity of the sanction and have asked the FIA to reconsider, primarily seeking the removal of the two licence points rather than the retroactive alteration of the race result.

Sainz told reporters he remains convinced the penalty was incorrect and has been working with the team to assemble new material for the appeal. “I wish they...