Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson reflected on the penalty change by the FIA after success in right to review, as F1 drivers chime in about racing guidelines and permanent stewards.<\/p>\n
The case is finally closed what started in Dutch GP at Zandvoort. Between the races in Monza and Baku, the FIA set up a meeting and overturned the penalty handed to Williams\u2019 Sainz for his collision against Visa Cash App RB\u2019s Lawson at Turn 1, while fighting for points.<\/p>\n
While the results didn\u2019t change due to the overturn, Sainz had his two penalty points removed from the superlience and a big breakthrough in terms of getting the new evidence correct and overturning the penalty. Lawson accepted the notion of racing incident when asked about the change.<\/p>\n
But the racing guideline is still not 100% clear, even though some back it as just guideline and not absolute rule. The change in result also led to the permanent stewards discussion, which has been a common theme for years now. The grid remains divided on the request.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Haas\u2019 Oliver Bearman admitted to be driving safe in the next few rounds as a race ban hovers on his head. He has 10 penalty points and two more will result in a penalty. He still has to get through Brazil in November end to breathe a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n
Penalty changed \u2013<\/p>\n
Carlos Sainz: \u201cYeah, I was, and I think after Zandvoort you saw me obviously quite upset about the whole situation because I was very convinced that we had a point and we had an opportunity and especially when I went after the race to speak to the stewards, that they were actually quite open to the discussion and to let me give my POV. They were, yeah, I could tell that they also had a good conversation and realisation that maybe the judgment was not fully correct and the fact that the FIA gave us the opportunity and there were enough mechanisms to open the discussion again I think it\u2019s a positive step and the fact that they even took the opportunity to revert or cancel the penalty points and the penalty itself is a good sign. Honestly, I can just say it\u2019s a good sign. I\u2019m not saying every case and every scenario should be the same, but I think cases that are pretty obvious like that one, I think it\u2019s good to see that there\u2019s mechanisms and ways to revert.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, the problem I think is it was not as obvious, like, it could be down to interpretation before I think in the case where it\u2019s, in this case for me it was, sorry, but it was black and white like, there should never be a penalty for what happened in Zandvoort that I think it was so obvious that the moment we presented one or two cases of new evidence like we did it was enough to open the discussion again and get it to correct itself. For me it\u2019s relatively a breakthrough because it\u2019s the first time that I\u2019ve managed to present new evidence and accept a hearing, how do you call it, a right of review. We\u2019ve tried before and we\u2019ve never managed in other teams, so it shows that the mechanism is there and is there for a reason, which I\u2019m finally happy that you can use that mechanism when in the case where it\u2019s black and white like it was my case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liam Lawson: \u201cHonestly, every incident is going to be slightly different in its own way. You have regulations, written as they are, and we\u2019re always trying to maximise them and race to them as much as we can. I think we all probably agree that sometimes they\u2019re not always right or we feel they can be slightly better, but it\u2019s very hard to write a clear set of regulations in Formula 1 when every single scenario is different. For me, it didn\u2019t make a difference\u2014it was a racing incident. If you look at it on TV, that\u2019s what it looks like, I would say as well. I have no problem with it, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oliver Bearman: \u201cI think it\u2019s correct that they took away that penalty and those penalty points and I don\u2019t think it should come to that. I think it was quite clear from the outside looking at what happened, of course they want to get the decision made as soon as possible. But with a lot of these cases, if they discussed with us as drivers, I think there would be an answer. We would all agree on what should be a penalty, what shouldn\u2019t be a penalty. It\u2019s tough to make guidelines because every situation is unique, so it\u2019s tough to conform to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oscar Piastri: \u201cI think, ultimately, the right decision was made. And I think it\u2019s only a good thing that the FIA and Stewards were able to make that case. So I think that\u2019s only a good thing for the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nico Hulkenberg: \u201cI think it just depends. Every case, every incident is different, and you have to decide whether it\u2019s worth looking at or not. I think in this particular one, it was. So, good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pierre Gasly: \u201c(Thumbs up [to agree]).\u201d<\/p>\n
Charles Leclerc: \u201cI think I have always been honest whenever I have been on the wrong side of things or right side of things. So in this case, I don\u2019t think it will change my approach. The day I think I have really done nothing wrong and I get the penalty, then for sure push the team to do that but not because of what happened to Carlos. I think what happened to Carlos, he was actually right to ask for that. I think we all agreed in the paddock that his penalty wasn\u2019t right, so yeah, I think he did well but it won\u2019t change my approach in the future, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fernando Alonso: \u201cYeah, he did well. As you said, normally that thing [a change] doesn\u2019t happen often. It is very difficult to have new evidence but yeah, it is a think that the FIA is being more open now. We will see in the future [how it works].\u201d<\/p>\n
Racing guidelines clear or not \u2013<\/p>\n
Sainz: \u201cI think we cannot forget the fact of a very important word that is guidelines. I think guidelines is not a rule, it\u2019s a guideline to how to judge an incident. There\u2019s not a rule that says I cannot go around the outside of a corner. There\u2019s a guideline to say if you are at the outside of a corner you\u2019re very likely to be and you don\u2019t back out of it and the two cars collide, it\u2019s very likely that you will be the car penalised but it\u2019s a guideline, not a rule. Why? Because the perfect example is Zandvoort. If a car on the inside loses control of the car and creates the accident there\u2019s nothing wrong with you trying to be around the outside of a corner if you don\u2019t create a crash. I\u2019ve been racing my whole life, I\u2019m in the car, if I\u2019m honest I don\u2019t think about the guidelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think more about clean racing and what I think is fair and I go by muscle memory of my last 20 years of racing and I always try and keep it fair but when there\u2019s a touch, a crash that I know I haven\u2019t done anything wrong about I know that in these cases you need to use common sense. I think the guidelines have been an effort to make it very clear for the stewards and the drivers to know who\u2019s likely to have responsibility for the incident but I\u2019m not going lie I think they haven\u2019t had the impact that we all wish they had in terms of making it clearer, it\u2019s clear on paper and when you read it but then on the execution and the racing like we always see it\u2019s not as clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexander Albon: \u201cYeah, I\u2019m still confused. I still don\u2019t really know how to properly race. I mean, you can go a week later and I\u2019m still confused, to be honest. I am sure we will have a long discussion in the drivers\u2019 briefing about it. What\u2019s great is that the FIA have really been\u2026kind of given insights to their decisions and we have good discussions to fix about it. It is not us vs them, it is very collaborative in terms of what can we do, what can\u2019t we do. Why this and why not that. This is me speaking, but it is still hard to understand what\u2019s allowed. What\u2019s clear to me is that the inside line is generally pretty powerful but then in Monza, it wasn\u2019t. So, I don\u2019t really know. I thought racing incident [between Carlos and Oliver in Monza]. It\u2019s a tricky one, because realistically we want consistency. That\u2019s where all this has started from. But that is what makes it so difficult to regulate, because every situation is different and at the same time, should anyone own a corner? I don\u2019t know. I think there\u2019s always give and take.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s tricky is in karting or in junior formulas, it was always kind of obvious, there was sort of gamesmanship, you knew what you could do and what you couldn\u2019t. Just by feeling you knew what was fair and what was not fair. And now I don\u2019t know what\u2019s fair, what\u2019s not in terms of etiquette and driving style. That\u2019s where the matter is. Then there is layers on layers on layers [of rules], then it becomes this mess. It is hard to know because really combat is floative, it is given and take, two parties driving against each other. And now it is hard for me to interpret. I don\u2019t think we all think it is correct but at the same time, it is open, it is not \u2018this is how it is guys, we think this is the right way to do it\u2019. There is open discussion which is I am hoping move it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oliver Bearman: \u201cYou can\u2019t, imagine you\u2019re going into the corner, you have a guy alongside you. You\u2019re deciding, OK, I\u2019m going to fight for this corner. Because in my situation [Monza] he [Sainz] was a bit faster than me \u2013 but it wasn\u2019t like he was catching me one second a lap. If I could have stayed in front in that corner, I would have been able to stay in front until the end of the race. So I had every intention to fight for the move. And in that split second where you brake and you see how fast you\u2019re entering the corner with respect to your competitor, you don\u2019t then think about the three-page guideline they sent you in January. It\u2019s not possible. So you race to the corner like you know how, like you\u2019ve been brought up doing. In my situation, I expected a bit more space, but that\u2019s how it went.\u201d<\/p>\n
Esteban Ocon: \u201cI am fine. I mean, it\u2019s obviously a change to how it was before, but it\u2019s something we\u2019ve discussed, with FIA. Of course, when you put that in place, and then you use it to your advantage, it\u2019s quite clear where, some of the, weaknesses of what we\u2019ve put in place can be. But we\u2019ve worked with FIA to say, \u2018yeah, this is what we want\u2019, so we can\u2019t really complain about it. So, yeah, it\u2019s the way we\u2019re racing. I\u2019ve raced, in the past in my go kart times where if you were around the outside, you are in the grass on the on the exit of the corner. You couldn\u2019t go around the outside of people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a little bit towards that, what we have now. For me, it\u2019s fine. I\u2019m happy with it. But, yes, it can be odd because we\u2019ve been used to racing a certain way. We\u2019ve lived in the space the whole way, and now, you know, you can do something a little bit different. Obviously, it\u2019s a street circuit here. So if you don\u2019t leave the space, it\u2019s going to be very different. But, yeah, we have to race with what rule is written and more, even more on top of that. We can\u2019t complain because we work with FIA to get so full. So it has to be that that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isack Hadjar: \u201cHonestly, when I am racing, I am not thinking at all about racing guidelines like I am doing what I think is right and doing what lets say for the driving I am attacking or I am defending against. That\u2019s it. That\u2019s what I have been doing and so far it\u2019s been working pretty well. Yeah [I have read them], but I don\u2019t know the rules, to be honest. I shouldn\u2019t be proud of that but I am not\u2026and in so far, it is going well because I know how to race people, I don\u2019t think there should be rules about how to race someone because every scenario is unique, every corner is unique, so. I don\u2019t\u2026it doesn\u2019t take into account like speed differentials\u2026.the rules\u2026they made sense but again it is very hard to make rules for racing. They are all very unique situations and we are the 20 best drivers in the world and so far the racing, at last for me, has been very good. I have had no incidents with anyone, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
How stewards approach, permanent or not \u2013<\/p>\n
Sainz: \u201cNo, I don\u2019t know how they approach each situation, whether they\u2019re going to leave it for later or decide in the moment. I think it\u2019s fair to say there\u2019s relative pressure from media, drivers and everyone to want to know that when the race finishes you want to know the actual result rather than having to wait two hours to actually decide. I think we are all unconsciously or consciously maybe putting a bit of pressure on the stewards to take decisions during the race rather than after, which is maybe something to consider. I think what would help is that if I knew the referee were always the same in every race for me I would know by pattern and by years of working with the same referees if they were going to judge that incident in that moment or not. But when you work every race with different referees, it\u2019s very difficult to know and understand if it\u2019s coming or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know the finance side of that [permanent stewards] but I think as a group, FIA, if we all agree that should be the way forward where at least two of the three stewards are permanent and we have one rotational for teaching purposes and sporting fairness purposes to have always one rotational but two permanent I think we shouldn\u2019t care about who pays because there\u2019s enough money in the sport to pay those salaries the same way that there\u2019s enough money in the sport to pay the salaries of all the other people, so if that\u2019s the right way forward I cannot believe we\u2019re talking about those salaries. Because not everyone agrees. I think not everyone agrees the same way that they can use the argument of football, why in football we have different referees and no one complains or other sports have always the same referee and the sporting fairness that there could be a guy that if he gets penalised two or three times he will start blaming he\u2019s a steward that hates me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I understand where they come from and those that defend non-permanent stewards I understand their point, I just have a very clear opinion on that, that we have it with the race director I\u2019m really enjoying this new race director, the approach he has and we\u2019re starting to understand the kind of decisions that he\u2019s going to take and the relationship is growing thanks to working now for a year with him and I see him being in the sport for quite a long time and we\u2019re not changing race director every race, we have a fixed race director and I see the benefits that that gives to the sport and the development with the drivers and the development of the relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albon: \u201cYes [permanent stewards will help]. Just because it is like with everything, you kind of you know what you can do, you know what you can\u2019t do, you get the feeling of what\u2019s too far and not too far. Even that can change if race directors are many, and that\u2019s where it gets difficult. If you want to have discussions about previous race, stewards generally aren\u2019t there in the next race to talk about the previous ones, so you have to wait for two weeks to talk about the one in the previous race, so stuff like that, it makes it difficult to have these openness around it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bearman: \u201cI think so [we need permanent stewards]. It is because if something is fine one weekend and not the next, the size and scale and the amount of money this sport makes, I think we can have permanent stewards. Consistency is very important in a matter like this, so it would definitely be good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ocon: \u201cYeah. It\u2019s a difficult topic, obviously. Even in some teams, they are rotating engineering team or mechanics team. And I\u2019ve never been a fan of that. Even I remember, at Alpine, we were rotating, engine engineers, at some point. And I hate that because it\u2019s obviously something that you work to build something, all the way together, and then, you don\u2019t have to recall because it\u2019s someone else, joining, on the following events. So you can\u2019t work the same way as what we\u2019ve been doing. So having different stewards also, brings a little bit of, uncertainty for us on what\u2019s possible to do, and we can\u2019t work and know what they expect from us as much as if it was always the same people. But we live in a championship where we have 24 races. I mean, some of you guys are doing all the races, but not many of you.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it is the same the same thing for them. So it is understandable that it\u2019s very difficult to have the same people every time. But the FIA still wants to try their best to have the consistency. They are very clear and transparent with us when we talk to them. So, yeah, that\u2019s something that\u2019s very good compared to how it was some years ago. Yeah. They have [experience]. What the stewards we have, I mean, we know them for years. Yes, they are not the same at every race, but we know them all. And they have, but, it\u2019s difficult, if you have different people with different judgment to always have, you know, the same outcome. It is normally it is human. But, I\u2019ve been I\u2019ve been okay everywhere. So it\u2019s more topic for some somebody as me, really.\u201d<\/p>\n
Own penalty situation, nearing race ban \u2013<\/p>\n
Bearman: \u201cThe rules are the rules. I think as a racing driver and as a fan as well maybe, it\u2019s tough to take that penalty \u2013 because from my side at no point was I out of control. I was totally just racing to the corner with another driver and then I didn\u2019t get left any space at all. In the end, that\u2019s what the rules state. So I do feel a little hard done by. I guess now if I\u2019m on the outside I\u2019ll just go for it, no? That\u2019s how the rules are, it\u2019s my fault for getting the penalty regardless of if we agree with the rules or not. But it\u2019s a tough one to take. That\u2019s not how any of us have grown up racing, really. Actually, it all started from the Ascari chicane. Because the car ahead of me put gravel on track and I was the first one to hit the gravel. So I lost four or five tenths, that\u2019s the reason I was in the position to get overtaken, so it was quite a series of unfortunate situation actually.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s a shame. I guess I\u2019ll just go around the outside now. Of course. It\u2019s a shame that I ended up at that point, of course. I earned some for good reason. I did a very dangerous mistake in Silverstone, but I also have six from things kind of\u2026 I got two from Monza, I got two from Monaco in the red flag, which I really felt like I did the maximum to avoid a dangerous situation there and I got four penalty points for that. So it\u2019s a shame that I end up with this many. Of course, the four that I earned in Silverstone, I deserve and I took that on the chin and learned from it. But now I\u2019m going to be making it to when I lose my two from Brazil, basically. I don\u2019t have a choice [but to move out]. I would hope to get given space on the inside, but clearly there\u2019s a possibility that that won\u2019t happen, so I can\u2019t take that risk. We have seen it actually happen few times this season like Monza, maybe I wasn\u2019t vocal enough on the radio because I saw it happened to someone in Monza and they were talking on the radio, making it clear that they couldn\u2019t do anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say anything on the radio because I was more thankful that I didn\u2019t crash into the back of a car under red flag. But having that narrative would have helped my case, later on in the Monaco case. The guidelines are the guidelines, it states that when you overtake a car under red flag then it is a penalty, of course it is dangerous to do that, but if when the red flag comes out, you are half a second away, there needs to be some margin for that. I wouldn\u2019t like to be in the stewards room because that is a really tough job. There is never a happy part, definitely a thankless job. Of course, they are doing their best out there. And we are sometimes are not happy with what happens, but it is a tough job.\u201d<\/p>\n