Sainz: Piastri penalty ‘unacceptable’ – urgent to overhaul rules

F1 drivers’ simmering frustration over racing guidelines has boiled over, with Williams driver and GPDA director Carlos Sainz taking the lead in calling for urgent reforms after Oscar Piastri’s controversial penalty in São Paulo.

The Spaniard, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, signaled that the driver community has had enough – and wants change fast.

The FIA and drivers are set for talks at next week’s Qatar Grand Prix, where the sport’s racing rules, consistency and interpretation will dominate what is usually a routine meeting. This time, the mood is very different.

The flashpoint came after Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty for a three-way Turn 1 collision at Interlagos also involving Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc.

The FIA stewards ruled that because Piastri was not ahead at the apex, and therefore not entitled to racing room – a verdict that left many drivers baffled.

‘Unacceptable’ and ‘far from where the sport should be’

Stepping up on Wednesday in Las Vegas to address the collective reaction, Sainz didn’t hold back.

“I think we need urgently a catch-up and try and solve it, because for me the fact that Oscar got a penalty there in Brazil is unacceptable, honestly, for the category that we are in and being the pinnacle of motorsport,” said the Williams driver.

“Everyone that's seen racing knows that that is not Oscar's fault at all, and everyone that's really raced a race car knows he could have done nothing to avoid an accident there and he got away with a 10-second penalty.

“For me it's something that I don't understand. I didn't understand my Zandvoort penalty, I didn't understand why Ollie [Bearman] got a penalty when we both collided in Monza.

“So there's been not one but multiple incidents this year that for me are far from where the sport should be.”

For Sainz, the problem is systemic, not isolated. The existing guidelines, introduced to help stewards navigate grey areas, now appear to be generating new uncertainties instead of eliminating them.

“It's difficult to judge, because it could go both ways. You could criticise the way the guidelines are written and we ask the stewards to obviously apply those guidelines as firmly as possible and the stewards are just doing their job,” he said.

“Or are the guidelines [just] guidelines and the stewards should take them as guidelines and not as black or white? It could go both ways. I'm not sure what the solution is, but it is very clear for me that after what I saw in Brazil, something is not quite working.”

A Push For Permanent Stewards – And Racing Experience

Sainz offered one concrete proposal: give F1 a consistent panel of stewards who understand racing from the inside, a suggestion often put forward by teams and drivers.

“With good and consistent stewarding - if they truly understand racing really well - through the year we would develop an understanding among us, and you would know when it's your fault. They would know when it's someone's fault and not,” he explained.

“This is more my perception of things, but I think if we had three fixed guys, the same way that we have a fixed race director, and we know the way they've been applying penalties through years, then we create that muscle memory of how they tend to rate penalties.

“I honestly think, even without guidelines, we know when it's someone's fault or not, or when it's a simple racing mistake.”

The implication is clear: nuance and racing intelligence cannot come from documents alone.

Albon: Too Many Rules, Not Enough Common Sense

Sainz’s Williams teammate Alex Albon echoed the dissatisfaction, but warned that a perfect solution may be elusive.

“I do feel like there is a feeling like the FIA are trying to come up with [a solution]. There's no ignorance in their approach and they are open-minded,” he said. “We do appreciate that as drivers. Will it come to a clear rule set? I'm not sure.”

• Read also: Steiner blasts McLaren for not contesting Piastri’s Brazil penalty

Albon argued that the ever-growing rulebook has made racing more confusing, not less.

“I think back when there were less rules, it was more of interpretation, so everyone had a bit more of a systemic approach to what was clean racing and what was not clean racing. And you kind of had to build that idea on yourself.

“Whereas now it's almost like there's these layers upon layers of rules. Then it just becomes confusing. I'd prefer it to be stripped back but then I know that adds more greyness.”

Next week’s meeting in Qatar may prove pivotal. The question is whether the FIA and drivers can find common ground – or whether incidents like Piastri’s penalty in Brazil will continue to ignite frustration across the grid.

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