Sainz’s blunder costs Piastri the Hungarian GP; Ralf Schumacher can’t make sense of it

It was one of the most dramatic moments in the turbulent Hungarian round of the Formula 1 World Championship: on lap 38, Williams driver Carlos Sainz was so engrossed in his battle with Fernando Alonso that he failed to notice Oscar Piastri closing in on him.

The result: a collision; Piastri lost the lead to Norris, and later the unfortunate Australian even retired from the race due to gearbox failure.

Sainz tried to explain it away by saying that Piastri had been in his blind spot, and claimed that the blue warning lights on his car hadn’t been working. Incidentally, the Spaniard didn’t think it was a big deal. “These things just happen in a race.”

The stewards of the World Motor Sport Federation showed astonishing leniency: a five-second penalty, but what difference does that make when Sainz is just pottering about among the backmarkers and ends up in P18?

Ralf Schumacher is flabbergasted. The 50-year-old German watched the Hungarian Grand Prix live on site for our colleagues at Sky. He fails to understand two aspects of the incident in question.

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“Well, when Sainz is jostling with Alonso back there, there’s nothing at stake. Neither of them had a chance of scoring World Championship points. Then the race leader approaches. Not only do the two Spaniards fail to make way immediately, but Sainz also crashes into Piastri’s car. That’s completely unacceptable.”

Schumacher, a six-time Grand Prix winner, believes that dismissing such actions as mere ‘slight offences’ and failing to penalise them strictly sets a bad example.

“The penalty for Sainz is far too lenient. It should have been a ten-second penalty at the very least, or better still, a grid penalty for the following race weekend.”