F1 News: Sainz Jr., Williams push FIA on stewarding consistency

(GMM) Carlos Sainz Jr. (pictured) says even the FIA privately acknowledged its stewards may have erred in penalizing him at Zandvoort.

The Williams driver clashed with Liam Lawson at Zandvoort, expressing his fury not only with his Racing Bulls rival afterwards, but also hitting out at the stewards.

Williams has now formally requested a ‘right of review’ of the decision to penalize Sainz, 31.

Sainz told Spanish media that he met with FIA officials after the Dutch GP. “When they saw the evidence, which I don’t think they had seen, as to why I had nothing to do with the accident or why it was a racing incident, when they saw it, they came to their senses,” he revealed.

Also a director of the GPDA, Sainz said the case highlights wider frustrations about inconsistent stewarding. “As a category, this is what we have to improve,” he explained.

“That’s the only thing I can say when I’m cool. When I’m hot, it would be much harder. But it’s clear that what happened cannot happen. It can’t be that in some cases it’s a penalty and in other cases it’s not.”

His Williams teammate Alex Albon admitted at Monza that many drivers are confused when out on track. “When I’m racing wheel to wheel, I don’t really understand what I can and can’t do,” he said.

“So I end up playing by my own rules, in a way, and deciding what is a fair pass and what is a fair defense. It works for me.”

Lawson, meanwhile, said at Monza that Sainz never approached him to talk through the incident. “I didn’t hear from him,” said the New Zealander.

“I thought that if he was so upset he would want to talk about it, but no. He didn’t come and talk to me.”