F1 star claims rival 'ruined' his weekend after LATE FIA penalty issued at Canadian Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris — Photo: © IMAGO

Canadian Grand Prix

F1 star claims rival 'ruined' his weekend after LATE FIA penalty issued at Canadian Grand Prix

A F1 star was unlucky in qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 15 June 2025 22:57

Williams F1 star Carlos Sainz has claimed that a rival ‘ruined’ his Canadian Grand Prix weekend after a late FIA penalty was issued.

Despite looking strong throughout Friday and Saturday, Sainz made a shock Q1 exit in Montreal after he approached Isack Hadjar - who was on a cool down lap - at the Turn 6/7 chicane.

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The Racing Bulls driver compromised Sainz’s line and ruined his lap, which meant the Williams star was unable to progress into Q2.

“There isn't much to say. I spent pretty much all of Sector 1 behind the VCARB, to the point we nearly collided,” the Spaniard wrote on social media.

“I was 20 milliseconds away from Q2, so that pretty much ruins the weekend. It’s incredibly disappointing.”

Hadjar penalised for Sainz incident at Canadian Grand Prix

Sainz’s team-mate Alex Albon on the other hand, made it into Q3 and started the Canadian GP in ninth following Hadjar’s penalty.

The 20-year-old was given a three-place grid drop after the stewards reviewed the footage where Hadjar had impeded Sainz.

According to the stewards, Hadjar moved too late off the racing line, which earnt him a penalty, and he even admitted that he had impeded his rival.

However, the Frenchman argued that the team told him that Sainz had abandoned his lap when he approached, and when he realised this information was wrong he tried to move out of the way.

Hadjar’s justification had little impact on his penalty though, with the standard penalty of a three-place grid drop applied regardless of whether the incident was the fault of the driver or the team.

Sainz came home in P10 claiming the final points position – while Albon was forced to retire the car.

McLaren FIA Carlos Sainz Alex Albon Isack Hadjar Canadian Grand Prix