Williams announce FIA protest ahead of Italian GP

Williams F1 team have announced they are launching a protest ahead of Monza after Carlos Sainz's penalty at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend.

On the safety car restart after Lewis Hamilton's race ending crash, Sainz found himself in a battle with the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson.

The pair came together heading into Turn 1 and proceeded to tumble down the order, both receiving punctures after Lawson's rear-left wheel made contact with Sainz's front-right.

Over team radio, Sainz suggested Lawson was to blame, and said: "He's just so stupid. Oh my God, it's always the same guy."

However, the stewards disagreed and slammed Sainz with a 10-second time penalty alongside two penalty points, taking his total to four, with the FIA announcing that the stewards determined Lawson had the right to the corner and the Williams was wholly to blame for the collision.

Why was Sainz's Dutch GP penalty controversial?

Sainz's penalty was shrouded in controversy last weekend, and Sainz responded to the ruling over team radio where he argued: "Who?! Who gets a penalty? Me?! Are you joking? You're joking. I mean, it's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in my life."

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

When Sainz did go to visit the stewards after the race to understand the penalty, the Spaniard was even more convinced they had made a mistake.

"It was very clear to me that as soon as they got all the evidence right and they looked at the places they needed to take the right decision, it was clear to me that I think they realised probably the decision taken wasn't the best one," Sainz said during Thursday's press conference at Monza.

"Now we are trying to see if we can come up with enough evidence to change the outcome of the penalty, because I still firmly believe it was a very poor penalty I received and a bad judgment, which can happen as long as you have the capacity to revisit it.

"If there's been a misunderstanding or a lack of evidence or analysis, then there is still time to re-analyse it, reopen it, and change it. I do believe they had a very difficult Sunday looking back at it. They had a very busy afternoon, and maybe it was overwhelming because of the amount of stuff that happened in the race.

"But I still firmly believe what I thought after the race. Now in a cooler-headed state, I still believe the penalty was not acceptable, and I made it very clear."

Williams have since lodged a petition for a right to review late Thursday afternoon, protesting the decision ahead of this weekend's Italian GP, although new evidence will need to be brought forward to secure a hearing with the stewards.

The International Sporting Code stating that competitors have 96 hours from the end of the competition to file any petition, a condition that was met by James Vowles' F1 outfit on this occasion.

A statement from Williams read: "We can confirm we have submitted a right of review to the FIA relating to Carlos’ penalty in Zandvoort.

"It is important for us to understand how to go racing in future, and we are hopeful of a positive outcome."

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