Carlos Sainz believes Oscar Piastri could have adopted a more cautious approach in the incident between the two during the Formula 1 Hungarian GP. The Williams driver attributed the confusion to problems with the blue flag system and classified the contact as a racing incident.
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The contact happened when Piastri was trying to lap Sainz after his second pit stop. The Australian lost important time in the fight for victory with McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who took the definitive lead after making his pit stop shortly after.
According to Sainz, he wasn’t even aware that he would be overtaken by Piastri due to failures in the blue flag system during the race. Therefore, the Spaniard stated that he believed he had a justification for what happened and suggested that the McLaren driver could have been more prudent in his approach. “Honestly, I feel sorry for Oscar, but this time I think I have a good justification for what happened. I don’t know if he couldn’t have been a bit more careful either, as he was the one fighting for the podium and important positions, especially with all the problems we were having with the blue flags,” he stated.
Sainz also commented on the five-second penalty he received for the incident and said he had no reason to contest it, as he was only fighting for the last positions. “I received the five seconds and I’m fine with that. I don’t care when I’m fighting for P18. That’s what happened,” he added.
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Asked if he had spoken with Piastri after the race, the Williams driver replied that he didn’t consider it necessary. “No, I don’t need that. It was a racing incident. He probably understands what happened knowing the whole situation. He didn’t retire because of me, it was just contact, and I’m glad it didn’t hinder his race that much. It was a complicated situation for everyone because of these problems,” he concluded.
Piastri eventually retired from the Hungarian GP later due to a gearbox failure. As a result, Norris won the race, ahead of Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli.
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