04/09/2025 14:20
The Formula 1 drivers are set for a "long" briefing with the FIA on
Friday ahead of the Italian Grand Prix to discuss Carlos Sainz's
"surprising" Zandvoort penalty, according to Alex Albon. Sainz was
handed a 10-second time penalty during the Dutch GP for being
judged at fault for a collision with Liam Lawson, ruining the
Spaniard's race. He painted a frustrated figure after the race who
did not understand why he was penalised, given Sainz was on the
outside of Lawson at the first corner where contact was made.
Speaking on media day at Monza, Sainz's Williams team-mate, Albon,
defended the 31-year-old, insisting the collision should have been
deemed as either a racing incident or a penalty for Lawson. "I was
the car behind, so I would say I had the best view of it," Albon
told select media at Monza, including RacingNews365 . "I think at
the time on the radio, after coming out onto the back straight, I
kind of said, 'Okay, well, yeah, Liam's at fault there'. "He was
clearly at fault, from my point of view, from [behind]. I think I
got told about Carlos' penalty on the in-lap after the race, and
that was also surprising. "So I think as a driver, you kind of
have your version of the inter-combat rules as well, on top of what
the FIA have. "And it looked to me like, yeah, at best, a racing
incident, and then, if anything, a penalty towards Liam." Albon
defends FIA Due to the confusion among several drivers regarding
Sainz's penalty, Albon expects it to be quickly brought up during
Friday's briefing. Given the controversy over the punishment to
his Williams partner, the Thai-British driver expects it to be a
long briefing but has defended the FIA over its openness to discuss
issues. Asked if the penalty will be discussed in Friday's driver
briefing with the FIA, Albon replied: "We will definitely discuss
it. The FIA, in all honesty, are very open to discussions around
these kind of things. "I think, that they're very welcoming to
feedback around these kind of issues, and they don't hide away from
controversial decisions, and we do discuss them at length,
generally in driver debriefs, driver meetings. "So I will
guarantee you it's going to be a long one tomorrow."
