31/08/2025 21:30
Carlos Sainz has questioned the "approach" taken by Liam Lawson to
his style of racing in F1 following another collision between the
pair in the Dutch Grand Prix. Although Sainz was found at fault for
the lap 27 incident that left both drivers forced to make immediate
pit stops after sustaining punctures, the Williams driver was
adamant post-race that it was Lawson who sparked the situation.
Sainz was handed a 10-second penalty for what appeared to be a
relatively minor brush at the time despite the consequences after
the Spanish driver had made a move on Lawson around the outside of
Turn 1 at a safety car restart on lap 27. As they emerged out of
the right-handed loop, Lawson moved across in an attempt to cover
off Sainz, leading to the left-rear of the former's car clipping
the front wing of the Williams. "It's quite clear, in how many
examples we've seen in Turn 1, of two cars racing side by side
without contact," said Sainz, speaking to the media, including
RacingNews365 . "It's a corner that allows two cars to race each
other without having any unnecessary contact. "But with Liam, 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 DNA or a
puncture, like we did, than to actually accept having two cars side
by side, which hopefully will come with more experience. "He knows
he's putting too many points on the line just for an unnecessary
manoeuvre like he did." Lawson warned to 'pick your battles' Sainz
made his feelings quite clear over the radio at the time. "He's
just so stupid," he fumed. "Oh my God! This guy! It's always the
same guy." That was with reference to an incident earlier this
season when Lawson and Sainz's team-mate Alex Albon collided at the
Spanish GP, leading to the latter eventually retiring. "I wasn't
even really trying to race Liam that hard," continued Sainz. "I had
a gap around the outside, and so I thought I'd start getting him a
bit out of position for Turn 2, Turn 3. I wasn't trying to pass him
around the outside. I was just trying to have a side-by-side with
him to then get a better line for Turn 2, Turn 3. "And then
suddenly I have a contact which caught me completely off guard and
by surprise." Offering advice to Lawson, Sainz said: "You need to
pick your battles, and Liam, in his first years now, has decided to
have this approach. It's something I'll keep in mind. "It's the
story of my season so far, again, it was a race where I could have
finished P5, where Alex did, 10 points but for something that I
still cannot understand, that's out of our hands."
