Explained: Why Carlos Sainz was handed a 10-second penalty for his collision with Liam Lawson in the F1 Dutch GP

Carlos Sainz was handed a 10-second penalty for his incident with Liam Lawson at the 2025 F1 Dutch GP. The Spaniard was also given two penalty points on his superlicense, taking his total tally up to four points in the 12-month period.

The Williams driver started the race inside the top-10 and was aiming to move himself up the road, as pace was seemingly on his side after a few torrid weekends with the team lately.

With Lewis Hamilton crashing out of the Dutch GP, his car was stranded by the exit of turn three, leading the FIA to issue a safety car. This safety car then ended on lap 27 with Lawson being in P7 and Sainz closely following behind. The 30-year-old tried to mount a move on the Kiwi heading into turn one.

However, Sainz was a fair way behind Lawson. The stewards reviewed the onboard footage, timing, and telemetry and found that the front axle of the Williams was not ahead of the front axle of the Racing Bulls at the apex of turn one.

With a clear emphasis on the front axle being alongside the defending car in earning a right to the corner present in the driving regulations, stewards deemed that the 23-year-old had the right to the corner and exercised his right to use the remaining track width on the exit of turn one, where Sainz was present.

Thus, stewards imposed a 10-second penalty on the 30-year-old for the incident, which he served at his next pit stop.

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Carlos Sainz was not amazed to hear about the penalty issued by the stewards

Williams' Carlos Sainz after the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands - Source: Getty

Carlos Sainz started the Dutch GP in ninth and was hoping to break his four-race pointless streak. However, the incident with Lawson took him out of contention as he finished a lowly 13th in the classification.

With Sainz predominantly holding Liam Lawson liable for the crash, he was not expecting that he would be held guilty for the collision, as his mid-race reaction to receiving the news of the penalty over the radio revealed:

"Who?! Who gets a penalty? Me?!"

Moreover, he deemed the judgment to be a joke as he further said:

"Are you joking? You are joking, I mean it's the most ridiculous thing I have heard in my life."

Carlos Sainz's frustration seemingly boiled over upon hearing this news, as he revealed his intentions to meet the stewards after the race over the radio:

"Make sure we go visit the stewards after the race. I want to have a talk with them."

However, there is a minimal chance that stewards will have a change of heart, as the driving regulations already assert the importance of having the front axle alongside the rival car, making the Spaniard's case weaker in the stewards' office if he decides to question their decision.