Carlos Sainz has twice been left angered and baffled by the Dutch Grand Prix stewards that has left him facing what he considers to be "a serious matter".
Sainz was handed a 10-second penalty for a collision with Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson at a safety car restart on lap 27 after Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari into a barrier out of the Turn 3 banking.
The incident, which left Lawson with a puncture to his rear-left and Sainz to his front-right, as well as requiring a new front wing, drew the immediate ire of the Spanish driver towards the New Zealander over the radio, blaming him instantly for what transpired.
"He's just so stupid," fumed Sainz. "Oh my God! This guy! It's always the same guy."
Sainz had made a move on Lawson around the outside of Turn 1. 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.
When Sainz was eventually informed it was he who had been punished, and not Lawson, his incredulity was clear.
"Who? Who gets a penalty? Me?" When informed it was him, he replied: "Are you joking? You're joking! I mean, it's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in my life."
Reflecting on the incident post-race with the media, including RacingNews365, Sainz was naturally still unhappy.
"To get a 10-second penalty for that, I think it's a complete joke," said Sainz.
"I need to go to the stewards to get an explanation, to see their point of view on the incident, because it [the penalty] is unacceptable.
"It's not the level of stewarding that Formula 1 needs if they are really considering that to be a 10-second penalty on my behalf.
"It's a serious matter now that concerns me as a driver, as a GPDA director, and is something I will make sure I raise."
Sainz's attempts, though, to see the stewards after conducting his media duties were met with a rebuff, which additionally annoyed him.
"The most confusing part is that the FIA always tells us that doors are open to go and see the stewards and consult any type of doubt," said Sainz.
"But I just received a message that they would rather not talk to me right now. I don’t know where this is coming from."
The only mitigating circumstance in the stewards' favour is that they had numerous post-race investigations to conduct following a range of incidents during the race.
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