Williams’ Right of Review into Carlos Sainz’s penalty at the Dutch Grand Prix has been deemed successful.
The team based in Grove, England, submitted the appeal request after the Spaniard was taken out of points contention with a 10-second penalty at Zandvoort.
Sainz labelled the penalty “ridiculous” and a “joke” at the time, but following a review the incident has now been adjudged as a racing incident.
Stewards’ reverse decision
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, leads Carlos Sainz, Williams, through Turn 12 at the 2025 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix, Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort. | Red Bull Content Pool
Sainz was in a battle with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson when he went to the outside of Turn 1 at a safety car restart. But contact between the Williams’ front right wheel and Lawson’s left rear meant both were forced to crawl back to the pits to repair damage.
Sainz was deemed to have been predominantly to blame for the incident and therefore punished, with the 10-seconds served at a later pitstop taking him out of the top 10 in the classification. But following a review after Williams’ RoR request, the stewards explained: “The Stewards determine to rescind the Decision.
“The Stewards agree with Williams’ characterization of the collision as a racing incident. The Stewards are satisfied that the collision was caused by a momentary loss of control by Car 30.
“However, in the Stewards’ assessment, no driver was wholly or predominantly to blame for that collision. Car 55 contributed to the incident by taking the risk to drive close to, and on the outside of, Car 30 when Car 55 had no right to room there.
“And there was a real possibility that, if the collision had not occurred where it did, Car 55 would run out of track at the exit and/or a collision would have occurred at the exit for which the Driver of Car 55 would likely be predominantly if not wholly to blame.”
Penalty points taken away
Carlos’ Zandvoort penalty has been overturned on review.
Our reaction ⬇️
— Atlassian Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) September 13, 2025
But unable to change the results of the race, the stewards’ report explained: “The Stewards have no power to remedy that served time penalty by amending the Classifications but note that the gap between Car 55 to the car ahead in the Final Classification of the race (coincidentally Car 30) was 17 seconds.”
Crucially, however, the decision means that the two penalty points handed to Sainz have been rescinded, leaving him with just two in a rolling 12-month period.
A team statement from Williams read: “We are grateful to the stewards for reviewing Carlos’ Zandvoort penalty and are pleased they have now decided he was not at fault and that this was a racing incident.
“While it is frustrating that our race was compromised by the original decision, mistakes are part of motor racing and we will continue to work constructively with the FIA to improve stewarding processes and review the racing rules for the future.”
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