FIA overturns Sainz's Zandvoort penalty

Written by Kavi Khandelwal, Edited by Meghana Sree

The FIA has announced its decision regarding the Right of Review requested by Williams for a penalty given to Carlos Sainz at the Dutch Grand Prix. After the hearing, the stewards have decided to overturn the original penalty.

Credit: Formula One

The review was prompted by a 10-second penalty the Spanish driver received during the Formula One race for a collision with Liam Lawson, a Racing Bulls driver, following a Safety Car period.

Sainz was deeply frustrated by the "unacceptable" ruling, stating afterwards that he had been denied a chance to discuss the incident with the stewards, quite contrary to what he believed was standard practice.

Williams formally challenged the penalty to gain a clearer understanding of the current racing guidelines on September 4th, 2025. The team stated its goal for review as “important for us to understand how to go racing in future, and we are hopeful of a positive outcome”.

The FIA had set a date of September 12th, 2025 for a virtual hearing where the team was required to present significant and relevant new evidence for their case. In reaching their final verdict, the stewards concluded that the evidence sufficient to re-evaluate, making the results of the Dutch Grand Prix final.

Williams' official team statement after the hearing expressed their relief and gratitude, stating: "We are grateful to the stewards for reviewing Carlos [Sainz's] Zandvoort penalty and are please they have now decided he was not at fault, and that this was a racing incident."

They also mentioned their frustration as their race was compromised due to this penalty, but conceded: "mistakes are a part of motor racing and we will continue to work constructively with the FIA to improve stewarding processes and review the racing rules for the future."

This outcome means that Sainz's initial two penalty points awarded following the incident have been rescinded, but the results of the Italian Grand Prix remain unchanged, making the Spaniard's frustrating P11 result in Monza final.

In their official ruling the stewards explained the reasoning behind overturning the penalty. They stated their agreement with "Williams' characterisation of the collision as a racing incident".

The document noted that the collision was primarily "caused by a momentary loss of control by Car 30" which was driven by Lawson. However the stewards' assessment concluded that "no driver was wholly or predominantly to blame for that collision".

They acknowledged that Sainz in Car 55 contributed to the incident "by taking the risk to drive close to and on the outside of Car 30 when Car 55 had no right to room there". The report added there was a real possibility that a collision would have occurred at the exit of the corner regardless.

While the two penalty points imposed on the Spanish driver have now been removed the time penalty he served during the race cannot be remedied. The stewards noted they "have no power to remedy that served time penalty".