Given that he out-qualified his teammate Alex Albon, who would go on to finish fifth, Carlos Sainz’s race-wrecking collision with Liam Lawson was frustrating in more than one way.
Chancing an overtake at the first safety car restart, around the outside of the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson, the two tangled towards on the exit of the cambered Tarzan turn which gave them both punctures.
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Sainz was then incredulous at being blamed for the collision, and his consequent frustration could not be hidden. He told Autosport: “The incident, I think, is quite clear. I don’t know how many examples we’ve seen in Turn 1 at Zandvoort of two cars racing side by side without contact.
“It’s a corner that allows two cars to race each other without really having to have any unnecessary contact. But with Liam [Lawson], it always seems to be very difficult to make that happen. He always seems to prefer to have a bit of contact and risk a DNF or a puncture like we did.”
Sainz added that he wishes to seek answers from the stewards. “To get a 10-second penalty, I think it’s a complete joke. I need to go now to the stewards just to get an explanation to see what is their point of view because it’s unacceptable.
Sainz and Lawson bang wheels at the restart 💥#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/3nEyAeXTts
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 31, 2025
“I think it’s not the level of the stewarding that Formula 1 needs if they are really considering that to be a 10-second penalty on my behalf.”
The stewards’ report stated that: “Car 55 (Sainz) was attempting to overtake Car 30 (Lawson) on the outside of Turn 1. The front axle of Car 55 was not ahead of the front axle of Car 30 at the apex of Turn 1.
"Car 55 attempted to stay on the outside of Car 30 and a collision occurred. We considered that Car 30 had the right to the corner and therefore Car 55 was wholly or predominately to blame for the collision.
“As is standard for a collision of this nature and as prescribed under the guidelines, we imposed a 10-second time penalty on Car 55.”
The ‘Driving Guidelines,’ that became central to the stewards’ decision, were re-developed for the 2025 season, in consultation with the field of drivers.
And they do state that for a driver overtaking on the outside, the overtaking driver must have its front axle ahead of the defending driver, including on corner exit.
But here ensues the debate, do the guidelines meet reality; did Lawson bear responsibility for the crash, as Sainz suggests?
Formula 1 news and related links
Is the championship already over? Norris' woe at Dutch Grand Prix could cost him
Lewis Hamilton handed five place grid penalty for Italian Grand Prix