Unusual penalty for Sainz: lap penalty due to timing detail

It was a tough race for Williams at Silverstone: Alex Albon retired – and Carlos Sainz was handed a one-lap penalty after the race. This saw him drop from 12th to 17th place. The reason behind the penalty is unusual and almost absurd.

Following Max Verstappen’s (Red Bull Racing) crash on lap 48 of 52 at the Silverstone Grand Prix, the safety car was deployed. Following a software glitch, the race then came to an end behind the safety car – but that’s another story altogether. Sainz lapped himself during this safety car phase. It later transpired, however, that he shouldn’t have done so. But let’s take it one step at a time.

The usual procedure for a safety car late in the race is as follows: once the danger on the track has been cleared and a restart is imminent, the field must be sorted. This is because, late in the race, cars have usually been lapped – meaning they are driving somewhere further up the field behind the safety car, amongst the leading cars, where they do not actually belong. These cars must then fall back to the rear before the restart. This is achieved by overtaking the slow-moving field, including the safety car, completing their extra lap and then ending up at the back again, in line with their position on the timesheet. This is known as ‘lapping oneself’ or ‘falling back a lap’.

Sainz had not officially been lapped

However, things got a bit mixed up with Carlos Sainz at Silverstone: the Spaniard carried out the procedure as explained. After all, he had been lapped during the race. The catch, though, was that Sainz was not counted as a lapped car, even though he had, in fact, been lapped. Why was that? Since the legendary 2021 Abu Dhabi finale (where the order of the cars was a hotly debated sticking point), the system has been electronically recording and determining who is allowed to complete an extra lap. Sainz’s car, number 55, was indeed missing from the list of those permitted to take the extra lap. However, Sainz had no way of knowing this whilst in the car.

Unfavourably positioned measurement points

But how did Sainz end up missing from the list? This is where the layout of the Silverstone circuit comes into play. The entrance to the pit lane slightly cuts across the final chicane – and Sainz turned off during the safety car period to change tyres. Absurdly, this shortcut meant he crossed the finish line ahead of the leader, Charles Leclerc, because the timing points are positioned in such a way. Consequently, the timing system classified him as having been lapped – even though, after the stop, he had in fact been lapped again. In the wrong place at the wrong time. In other words: because Sainz was classified as having been lapped and was therefore not allowed to be lapped, strictly speaking he overtook the safety car – which is strictly forbidden.

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At least Sainz was already outside the points anyway, so he didn’t lose any points as a result of this oddity...