Oscar Piastri has let rip at Carlos Sainz at the Hungarian GP after the pair collided before the Aussie failed to finish the race due to a gearbox issue. This comes as F1 fans have called for a rule change around the blue flags after Piastri’s collision.
Piastri and McLaren were looking to win the Hungarian GP for the second time in three years having taken the lead after starting at third on the grid. Although Piastri’s race took a tumble after he failed to finish after a tangle with Sainz.
Fans are calling for a change to the blue flag rule after Oscar Piastri’s (pictured left) race took a blow after a collision with Carlos Sainz at the Hungary GP. (Images: Getty Images/@Formula1)
Piastri had pitted a second time and was looking to make up places and potentially take the lead again. Sainz was the backmarker of the race when Piastri attempted to overtake under the blue flags.
Backmarkers who have been lapped have to allow the leading drivers to pass through who are in contention for points. Although the Williams driver made a sweeping move left and collided with Piastri. This sent the Aussie into a rage on the radio.
Sainz was hit with a minor penalty for the collision, but it didn’t help Piastri with his McLaren car unable to finish the race. The Aussie is often restrained with his words after a race, but didn’t hold back when talking about the incident with Sainz even though there was a blue flag malfunction.
“For me that’s no excuse at all, that’s got to be one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in a race track. I don’t really care what excuse he gave,” Piastri said.
He added: “Yeah, I knew there were blue flag [issues], but there were blue flags on all the marshal signals,” Piastri said.
“I was right behind him. I couldn’t believe what happened. Getting crashed into by a lapped car is never one of the things you expect that can go wrong in your race. I don’t really care if he didn’t see me. The fact that he didn’t and no one told him or there was a lack of complete awareness is unacceptable.
“He was fighting Fernando for last place like it was the world championship. It cost me the lead of the race. He’s quite critical of others. Others have given him some stick before for being frustrating on track. When you go and do something like that, I think maybe you should look in the mirror a bit.”
Oscar Piastri (pictured) was unimpressed with Carlos Sainz at the Hungarian GP. (Photo by Marcel van Dorst/EYE4IMAGES/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
F1 fans calls for rule change after Piastri crash
There was also another frustration from fans. Piastri also called out his team for pitting him and putting him back out in the traffic, which saw him collide with Sainz. Fans were left wondering why Norris got to continue on the track and take the lead, which allowed him to pit and remain the leader.
Although after the race, Piastri admitted he didn’t have an issue in the end with the strategy. The incident did prompt fans to suggest F1 needs to look at a rule change for lapped drivers.
Many feel the backmarkers shouldn’t have any say in a race if lapped and should pull over if they are in the way. Others felt once lapped the race should end for the driver. Regardless, Piastri’s DNF is a huge blow to his championship quest having dropped to seventh in the standings with Kimi Antonelli extending his lead at the top of the table to 50 points over Lewis Hamilton.