FIA announce LATE penalty verdict for F1 star as points deducted

The FIA have announced a late penalty verdict for an F1 star, and have confirmed that points have been deducted.

At the Dutch Grand Prix, Williams driver Carlos Sainz received a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points after he made contact with Liam Lawson at Turn 1 on the safety car restart.

Originally, Sainz was awarded the penalty because the stewards believed Lawson had the right to the corner, and they ruled that the Williams star was wholly to blame for the collision.

Following the Dutch GP, Williams submitted a right to review, and the FIA have only just announced their decision two weekends later.

In an official statement, the FIA revealed that Sainz's Zandvoort penalty had been overturned, deciding that the Spaniard was not at fault, and that it was a racing incident.

The stewards were satisfied that the collision was caused by a momentary loss of control by Lawson, and no driver was predominantly to blame for the incident.

Furthermore, the FIA have confirmed both penalty points awarded to Sainz have been rescinded, but his P13 finish still stands despite the new verdict.

An official FIA statement read: "The time penalty imposed by the Decision was served by Car 55 [Sainz] during the race. The Stewards have no power to remedy that served time penalty by amending the Classifications but note that the gap between Car 55 to the car ahead in the Final Classification of the race (coincidently Car 30 [Lawson]) was 17 seconds."

Following the decision, Sainz's penalty points have reduced from a total of four down to two.

Williams react to FIA penalty decision

Williams released a statement in response to the FIA's decision, and said: "We are grateful to the stewards for reviewing Carlos' Zandvoort penalty and are pleased they have now decided he was not at fault and that this was a racing incident.

"While it is frustrating that our race was compromised by the original decision, mistakes are 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."

After hearing the news of his penalty during the Dutch GP, Sainz slammed the decision as ridiculous, and said over team radio: "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."

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