Sainz-Piastri clash, Carlos explains himself on social media (and doesn’t apologize): “Problem with blue flags”. But the images contradict him

No excuses

The Sainz-Piastri case continues to be a hot topic, certainly the most controversial episode of the entire Hungarian GP. The Spanish Williams driver indeed came into contact with the McLaren driver while the latter – who was leading the Grand Prix at that moment – was trying to lap him. In post-race interviews, Piastri harshly attacked Sainz, while McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was more conciliatory.

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The person directly involved, however, commented on the matter via social media, publishing a post that, instead of calming things down, generated further controversy. Sainz, in fact, did not apologize to Piastri – which normally happens when posts like these are published – and attributed responsibility for the incident to the alleged malfunctions of the light panels that normally signal blue flags.

“I had a great race, but there was an issue with the blue flag system: Oscar appeared in my blind spot while battling Fernando and we touched – Sainz wrote – then I lost ground due to the penalty and the double overtake during the VSC phase. We have a lot to work on, but we will come back stronger!”. However, his words sparked a wave of criticism on social media.

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Users’ rebuttal

Many users, in fact, published videos of Sainz’s onboard footage, which clearly shows that blue flags had already been shown to the Spaniard in the lap preceding the contact and that the panels were functioning regularly. Furthermore, Sainz had also been warned via radio about Piastri’s approach.

It is no coincidence that the stewards, in the official document published regarding the five-second penalty inflicted on the former Ferrari driver, cited as a mitigating circumstance only the fact that “at the time of the incident, the position of car no. 55 relative to the circuit and other cars meant that car no. 81 was not visible to the driver of car no. 55 before the overtaking attempt. Although the driver had been informed of the approach of car no. 81, the stewards recognized that limited visibility reduced the degree of fault“. For this reason, Sainz did not receive a ten-second penalty but only five.

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