Formula 1 News: Piastri penalty ‘unacceptable’, GPDA plans Qatar talks – Sainz

(GMM) Carlos Sainz Jr. says Formula 1’s recent spate of controversial penalties has reached a “critical” point – revealing that the GPDA will meet the FIA in Qatar next weekend to address the issue.

Arriving in Las Vegas, the Spaniard – a GPDA director – said the ten-second penalty given to Oscar Piastri in Brazil will be a key topic.

“For me, the fact that Oscar received a penalty in Brazil is unacceptable,” he told Spanish media. “Anyone who has watched racing knows it wasn’t Oscar’s fault. Anyone who has ever been in a race car knows he couldn’t do anything to avoid the accident – and he still got a ten-second penalty.”

Sainz said the confusion extends far beyond Interlagos.

“I didn’t understand my penalty at Zandvoort, or Bearman’s at Monza, or the penalty I received in Austin. It hasn’t been just one – there have been several incidents this year that are far from what this sport should be.”

The Williams driver argued that the current guidelines are being applied too rigidly. “As the rules are written, there’s always someone who will be at fault, even when it’s clearly a racing incident,” he said.

“There is something that isn’t working.”

Sainz also highlighted the stewards’ treatment of wheel lock-ups. “Every time there’s a lock-up, the stewards interpret it as a driver out of control – and that’s not the case. You can lock up and still make the corner.

“Oscar reacted to a move and locked up, I did the same in Austin. That needs to be reviewed.”

He has said recently that a potential solution would be a permanent panel of stewards. Sainz repeats that suggestion on this occasion.

“If we had three permanent stewards, with consistent decisions and shared experience, we’d all understand each other better. With good stewards who know racing well, we wouldn’t need such black-and-white guidelines.

“There’s a meeting in Qatar to sort this out,” he added. “After what happened in Brazil, something clearly isn’t working.”