Carlos Sainz asks the FIA to bring in a new F1 penalty that could make qualifying more exciting.
Right after the drama in Austria, Carlos Sainz jumped in to support Max Verstappen but also asked the FIA to think about tougher penalties for drivers who cause yellow flags during the important Qualifying rounds.
If Carlos Sainz were the FIA President, Formula 1 might look very different. The Spanish driver recently shared a new idea for the sport: celebrating the very best driver, not just the one lucky enough to have the fastest car. That might reflect how he feels about being stuck in a slower Williams car now, instead of the Ferrari he raced two years ago.
Now, Sainz has spoken up about what should happen when drivers cause yellow flags in qualifying. He wants the FIA to encourage clean laps. At the Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen spun out near the end of Qualifying, which let George Russell use a clever rule to grab pole position, while his teammate Kimi Antonelli lost time because of the yellow flags.
As chairman of the GPDA driver’s union, Sainz said what happened in Austria was done by the book but shouldn’t have been allowed. Like Verstappen, he thinks double yellow flags should protect drivers who crash.
But he went even further: anyone causing a yellow or red flag in qualifying should get a three-place grid penalty. This isn’t aimed at Verstappen, whose car had problems while third, but it would make things fairer. Otherwise, a driver in pole could spin out and still keep their spot, preventing others from setting faster times under yellow flags.
“I’m going to make a proposal, and then we can talk about it,” he said in an interview with RacingNews365. “I think anyone who causes a yellow or red flag in qualifying should get a three-place grid penalty. That way, you get punished and discouraged from crashing at full speed.”
“Imagine Max had been on pole after the first run but then crashed, causing a red flag that stopped others from improving. That wouldn’t be fair to George, Kimi, and the rest because the person on pole wouldn’t give others a chance to beat their time.”
“Sprints like Monaco or last year in Baku show this well. I was the first car out for the final run and thought, ‘If I crash now, I’m still on pole.’ We all think like that sometimes because we know how the rules work.”
“Whoever does this, if you push too hard and cause a yellow flag, you’re basically earning your spot by stopping others from setting better times – even if you didn’t mean to.”
Sainz stood by Verstappen’s spin and Russell’s smart use of the rules, saying it was done correctly even if the rules need changing.
“George played it perfectly by the book and deserved pole for that. But in my opinion, finishing a fast lap in such a risky situation shouldn’t be allowed.”
The popular Williams driver hopes to share his ideas before the Silverstone sprint weekend, though he knows the schedule is very busy in the UK.