Günther Steiner believes the penalty imposed on Carlos Sainz following his collision with Oscar Piastri was too lenient—he speaks out clearly and sharply criticizes the FIA’s reasoning
Günther Steiner has strongly criticized the FIA’s decision following the collision between Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The former Haas team principal and current TV analyst considers the five-second penalty imposed on the Williams driver too lenient and calls for a more consistent approach from the race stewards.
Sainz collided with Piastri’s McLaren during the race as Piastri attempted to lap him. Despite blue flags, the Spaniard did not make way, prompting the race stewards to impose a five-second time penalty.
FIA Cites Technical Issues
The FIA justified the comparatively lenient penalty by citing technical difficulties during the race. According to the world motorsport governing body, a faulty GPS tracking system and issues with the blue-flag software had influenced the situation and were therefore considered mitigating circumstances.
Steiner, however, cannot accept this reasoning.
On the Red Flags podcast, he explains that, in his view, the standard 10-second penalty should have been imposed. “Whether right or wrong, it wouldn’t have changed anything anyway,” says Steiner. “You simply have to make it clear that you don’t do something like that, regardless of whether there’s a software glitch or whatever. There are blue flags. Give him the standard 10 seconds.”
The South Tyrolean emphasizes that this is less about the immediate impact on the race result and more about sending a message to all drivers. “Don’t try to invoke extenuating circumstances. Who cares about extenuating circumstances? It was clearly a blue flag. Ten seconds is the standard, and that’s what he should have received. It wouldn’t have changed anything anyway.”
Steiner Calls for Clear Consequences
In Steiner’s view, the FIA must first ensure that its systems function reliably. At the same time, however, technical issues should not affect the severity of the penalty.
For Piastri, the collision had tangible consequences. The McLaren driver lost valuable time in the battle for the race win, before he was later forced to retire from the race entirely due to a gearbox issue. Sainz finished in 18th place.
After the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Sainz heads into the summer break in 15th place in the drivers’ standings with six points. Piastri is in seventh place with 92 points. The next Formula 1 race will take place in Zandvoort from August 21 to 23.