Carlos Sainz handed unusual F1 penalty after British GP error

Carlos Sainz has been handed a punishment of 'one penalty lap' after being deemed guilty of an infringement at the end of the British Grand Prix.

A Williams representative was called to see the stewards after the race on Sunday as the stewards noted a potential infringement.

This centred around “unlapping behind the Safety Car when not entitled to do so” following the late message from race control to the field under the late yellow flag period.

Sainz ended the race in 12th place and was one of several drivers who unlapped themselves behind the safety car.

But due to a quirk of the Silverstone track layout and the pit lane entry, he was found to have not been considered a lapped car when the message from race control came through.

The explanation from the stewards read: “Although Car 55 was lapped at Safety Car Line 1 when entering the pit lane, due to the specific track and pit lane configuration at Silverstone it had temporarily unlapped itself by the time it crossed the Line at the end of the lap during which it crossed Safety Car Line 1 for the second time after the Safety Car was deployed. 

“Consequently, Car 55 was not a lapped car for the purposes of Article B5.13.4 c) and was therefore not entitled to overtake the Safety Car when the "LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE" message was displayed. However, Car 55 unlapped itself once the message was displayed by Race Control.

“The Stewards noted that, after completing its pit stop, Car 55 once again was a lapped car when it re-joined the track. Given the exceptional track layout at this event, the Stewards understand how the sequence of events may have contributed to the team's confusion.

‘The team representative acknowledged that the team nevertheless made two errors: firstly, by failing to recognise that Car 55 was not a lapped car at the relevant reference point under Article B5.13.4 c), and secondly, by failing to note that Car 55 was not included in the Race Control message identifying the cars permitted to overtake the Safety Car. 

“The team representative accepted that they inadvertently gained a lap when they were not entitled to do so.

“In determining the appropriate penalty, the Stewards considered Article 12.4.1.i of the FIA International Sporting Code. The Stewards are satisfied that the penalty lap is one of the penalties available to them under the FIA International Sporting Code and considered it to be the most appropriate penalty in the circumstances of this case.”

Sainz was the only Williams driver to finish the race, as Alex Albon retired his car during the late safety car period.