FIA announce late penalty verdict at Las Vegas Grand Prix

Leclerc, Sainz and Piastri walking in the F1 paddock looking concerned — Photo: © IMAGO

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FIA announce late penalty verdict at Las Vegas Grand Prix

An F1 driver has been handed a late penalty verdict for the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 22 November 2025 16:57

The FIA race stewards announced a late verdict after qualifying at the Las Vegas Grand Prix for F1 star Carlos Sainz.

Sainz enjoyed a spectacular qualifying for Williams, setting the third-fastest time ahead of McLaren star Oscar Piastri.

However, the Spaniard was summoned to the stewards for rejoining the track unsafely ahead of Lance Stroll at Turn 5 in qualifying, an alleged breach of Article 33.3 of the sporting regulations.

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In what some feared would be a slam dunk grid drop, the stewards have decided that no further action will be taken over the incident.

They released an official statement confirming the verdict after qualifying, and the starting grid for Saturday's race remains unaffected.

When the stewards reviewed the incident, Stroll's representative stated that the rejoining of Sainz caused no issue for the Aston Martin star and that they did not deem the move unsafe.

In addition to Stroll's perspective, the poor visibility due to the wet weather conditions alongside the presence of yellow flags was also taken into consideration by the stewards.

Sainz's stellar 2025 season

After taking a while to warm up at Williams, Sainz has enjoyed a stellar second half of the season at his new team.

Sainz claimed his first podium with the team in Baku, and he might fancy his chances of doing the same in Vegas, in what would be a major achievement for Williams.

The last time Williams claimed more than one podium in a season was a decade ago in the 2015 season, where Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa both claimed four podium finishes.

Nevertheless, Sainz will have tough competition from behind with George Russell and Mercedes eager for a podium, as well as Oscar Piastri who will be hoping to keep his title fight alive.

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F1 FIA Oscar Piastri Carlos Sainz Las Vegas Grand Prix