Sainz returns to the ‘Russell case’ in Austria: “The double yellow was needed, but he respected the rules. And I would penalize those who bang”

On Russell’s side, Carlos Sainz rarely says trivial things and even during the Silverstone media day the Spanish Williams driver addressed interesting issues without hiding behind a finger but providing a reasoned opinion, which in his case has even more weight given that the former Ferrari driver is – together with George Russell – the reference driver of the GPDA, the association that brings together all F1 drivers and which is focused above all on improving safety in F1. The journalists present in England teased Sainz about what happened in qualifying in the last Austrian GP, ​​when George Russell took pole position from Charles Leclerc despite a (single) yellow flag being waved at the time on the last corner due to the accident involving Max Verstappen. The Williams representative defended the behavior of the Mercedes driver, who limited himself to lifting his foot the bare minimum, not aborting the lap and actually managing to improve his reference time, earning first position on the grid. Sainz’s paradox: in Austria he would have been penalized…Verstappen “He did an excellent job and, if you consider the rules, he deserved pole – Sainz said, referring to Russell – I think that in that situation there should have been a double yellow flag or a red flag and he shouldn’t have been able to complete the lap. I have an idea about this that I will share with the starting grid; we should discuss it in depth”, added the Spanish driver. The idea, which Sainz suggested after, seems a bit provocative and destined to divide opinions. In fact, according to the Madrilenian, anyone involved in an accident that causes a double yellow flag or even a red flag in qualifying should be penalised: “I would penalize anyone who causes flags to be displayed during qualifying due to an accident by three positions on the starting grid”, he ruled. It will be interesting to understand whether this position will gather consensus among Sainz’s colleagues in the coming days and whether it will actually be proposed to the FIA ​​as a solution – decidedly punitive – for these controversial cases.

Automobile Magazine – Formula1 English, News

2026-07-02 14:49:00