06/09/2025 15:40
Williams team principal James Vowles has explained the rationale
for submitting a right of review into Carlos Sainz's penalty at the
Dutch Grand Prix. The 31-year-old was handed a 10-second time
penalty for his collision with Liam Lawson, which he served in the
pits, before later being awarded two penalty points on his FIA
super licence. The pair came together at the first safety car
restart at Zandvoort as Sainz attacked the Racing Bulls driver for
seventh. Having gone side-by-side through the first corner, the New
Zealander suffered a snap of oversteer, causing the front right of
the Williams FW47 to make contact with the back left of the VCARB
02, causing punctures for both drivers. Sainz immediately branded
Lawson "stupid" over team radio for the incident, but the stewards
took a different view. The clash ruined both their afternoons, with
Lawson leading home the Spaniard in P12 and P13, respectively. The
latter feels the decision and punishment by the stewards was "not
acceptable", with Williams wanting the outcome given a second - and
closer - look. At Monza, his boss detailed why. "For me, if you
look on board from Lawson, not from Carlos, you'll see that his
head is completely in the mirrors," Vowles told Sky Sports F1 .
"He's not looking straight ahead. He's looking at the mirrors that
point in time. And as the car washes out, it gets into the
turbulent flow of the Ferrari, and he snaps. "So you can see it
there on board from Carlos, but the car doesn't move laterally in a
smooth way of opening the wheel. It fundamentally snaps a metre
across the track into Carlos. "And if you open the wheel up, the
other car will back out the way. If there's a sudden motion that
effectively puts you in a situation where an accident happens,
that, for me, is a racing incident." Twofold rationale for the
right of review Williams is not seeking to have the outcome of the
race altered. Even if Sainz had not served his penalty, he would
have finished the race down the order, and 10 seconds cannot be
removed from his race time as the late safety car for Lando Norris'
retirement would elevate him into the points, which he would not
have earned anyway. Instead, the Grove-based squad wants to first
have the super licence points added to the four-time grand prix
winner's record rescinded. Second, it wants to establish greater
clarity surrounding the specific area of the racing guidelines that
saw Sainz punished in the first place. "Lawson didn't intend on
hitting Carlos," Vowles added. "Also, Carlos wasn't doing anything
more than putting the car there, waiting for the moment, pushing
Lawson offside, then to get back and underneath him again. "So
what's important for me is: a) there's two points on Carlos' [FIA
super] licence. "But more importantly, I'd like to have just a
straightforward conversation so we all know how to go racing in the
future. If this is deemed, this is how we go racing, then at least
we have clarity over that."
