Liam Lawson suffered a puncture after contact with Carlos Sainz. Image: Coates/XPB Images
The pair made contact at the Safety Car restart, both suffering punctures that forced them into the pits and left them a lap down.
Stewards deemed Sainz “wholly or predominantly to blame” and handed him a 10-second penalty along with two licence points.
Team radio captured Lawson’s frustration at the gesture. After first reporting, “I have a puncture, mate,” he later added: “Yeah. Mate, the guy’s giving me the thumbs up like it’s my fault. It’s my fucking corner.”
The Zandvoort clash was not their first flashpoint. At last year’s Mexico City Grand Prix, Sainz accused Lawson of ignoring blue flags while he was leading for Ferrari, calling on stewards to penalise the then-rookie.
Lawson escaped sanction, but tensions between the two resurfaced in the Netherlands.
“With Liam, it always seems to be very difficult to make that happen,” Sainz said after the race.
“He always seems to prefer to have a bit of contact and risk a DNF or a puncture like we did, than to actually accept having two cars side by side.”
Sainz described the penalty as “a complete joke” and over the radio branded it “the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in my life.”
Sainz vents his frustration after being handed a penalty by the stewards for the collision with Lawson 😤#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/ZuGUBgTan0
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 31, 2025
Lawson pushed back, pointing to the stewards’ decision.
“If it was my fault, I would have got a penalty,” he said.
“It’s super slippery, cold tyres and it’s fine to go for the move, but it’s just risky.
“In the end, we made contact, which was not ideal, but that’s why he got a penalty.”
The clash ruined Lawson’s race, dropping him to 12th, one spot ahead of Sainz.
But while frustrated to miss out on points, he highlighted the significance of teammate Isack Hadjar’s third place — Racing Bulls’ first podium since 2021.
“It’s massive, obviously we’re pushing everybody here, and something like this could give that little bit of motivation to everybody to keep working hard,” Lawson said.
“It is cool for Isack, he’s done a good job and been very strong recently, so it was great to show the performance, and it’s very, very cool for him.”