'Stupid' Liam Lawson racing 'approach' slated by Carlos Sainz after latest clash

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."