Carlos Sainz was hit with a rare penalty following the 2026 British Grand Prix after the Williams Formula 1 driver incorrectly unlapped himself under a late safety car.
A lap 46 crash from Max Verstappen at Stowe caused Sunday’s Silverstone race to be run under safety car conditions for its final six tours, with Charles Leclerc winning for Ferrari.
But his former team-mate endured a much more difficult time of it, as Williams man Sainz crossed the line in 12th yet dropped to 17th and a lap back hours later following his penalty.
It came after, as per the regulations, lapped cars were allowed to overtake the safety car on the penultimate tour and rejoin the pack with Sainz being one of several drivers to do so.
Yet Williams failed to recognise that the Spaniard was not included in the ‘lapped cars’ message, meaning he should have remained where he was.
It is understood that, as a result, Sainz has become the first F1 driver to be penalised with a lap being added to his final classification.
An FIA report read: “The stewards heard from the team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing and in-car video evidence.
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
“Although car 55 was lapped at safety car line one when entering the pitlane, due to the specific track and pit lane configuration at Silverstone, it had temporarily unlapped itself by the time it crossed the line at the end of the lap, during which it crossed safety car line two for the second time after the safety car was deployed.
“Consequently, car 55 was not a lapped car for the purposes of Article B5.13.4 c) and was therefore not entitled to overtake the safety car when the ‘lapped cars may now overtake’ message was displayed.
“However, car 55 unlapped itself once the message was displayed by race control. The stewards noted that, after completing its pit stop, car 55 once again was a lapped car when it re-joined the track.
“Given the exceptional track layout at this event, the stewards understand how the sequence of events may have contributed to the team’s confusion.
“The team representative acknowledged that the team nevertheless made two errors: firstly, by failing to recognise that car 55 was not a lapped car at the relevant reference point under Article B5.13.4 c).
“Secondly, by failing to note that car 55 was not included in the race control message identifying the cars permitted to overtake the safety car. The team representative accepted that they inadvertently gained a lap when they were not entitled to do so.”
Sainz was the only Williams driver to cross the finish line after team-mate Alex Albon retired on lap 43 due to damage from his opening lap collision with Oliver Bearman.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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