Piastri Furious at Sainz After Hungarian GP Incident
Australian McLaren driver sharply criticized Carlos Sainz after the Spaniard held him up despite blue flags, with Piastri calling the incident unacceptable.
Australian McLaren driver sharply criticized Carlos Sainz after the Spaniard held him up despite blue flags, with Piastri calling the incident unacceptable.
Oscar Piastri showed a rarely seen level of anger after Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, openly accusing Carlos Sainz of unsportsmanlike conduct that cost him the race lead. The Australian McLaren driver did not finish the race after an incident with Sainz, who, according to Piastri, should have let him pass because he was a lap down, but instead slowed him down and collided with him.
Sainz was ahead of Piastri on track, but since he was a lap behind the Australian, he should have let him pass according to the rules. The situation was further highlighted by the blue flags shown to drivers when a slower or lapped rival needs to let them through. According to a report from Net.hr, Sainz apparently did not notice those signals as he did not move out of the way, slowed Piastri down, and then contact occurred between the two drivers. Piastri managed to avoid major damage to his car but lost significant time at that moment, which ultimately cost him the lead in the race, which was taken over by his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
Usually known for his calm demeanor, Piastri showed a rarely seen level of frustration after the race. "Yes, I knew there were issues with the blue flags, but they were being shown at all marshal posts. I was right behind him. I couldn't believe what happened. Crashing with a driver you're lapping is not something you expect as a possible problem in a race. Honestly, I don't care if he saw me or not. The fact that he didn't see me, and no one warned him, or there was simply a lack of awareness of the situation, is unacceptable," Piastri said.
The Australian did not stop there; he directed criticism at Sainz's on-track behavior during a battle for position with Fernando Alonso. "He was fighting with Fernando for last place as if it were a fight for the world championship. That cost me the race lead. He often criticizes others; others have criticized him before because he is frustrating to race against. When you do something like that, I think he should maybe take a look in the mirror," Piastri said, alluding to Sainz's reputation as a critic of other drivers.
Carlos Sainz tried to justify himself after the race, explaining that he lacked a key technical piece of information that would have helped him in that situation. "We didn't have blue lights on the steering wheel that usually help us in battles like this where we are fighting for position to understand whether we will be lapped or not. At that stage, I had no idea I was going to be lapped, and on top of that, I was in a big fight with Fernando and didn't expect Oscar to be there," Sainz said.
The Spanish driver added that Piastri's presence was in his blind spot. "Even if I had, he was in my blind spot, so honestly, from my side it was impossible to avoid. Probably a bit better communication would have helped, but that's something that happens sometimes in racing," Sainz concluded, acknowledging that communication between team and driver at that moment could have been better.
The incident had a direct impact on the race's outcome because Piastri, who had been leading the race up to that point, lost enough time for his teammate Lando Norris to take the lead. Piastri ultimately did not finish the race, while the final classification of other drivers and the exact lap number of the incident are not precisely specified in the source. It was not announced whether the FIA considered a penalty for Sainz for ignoring blue flags, which could further fuel the debate about responsibility in such situations.
The dispute between the two drivers is particularly interesting because it happened at a time when Piastri and Norris are in direct competition for the top of the drivers' championship standings, so any loss of points for one of them directly affects the dynamics within the McLaren team. It remains to be seen whether this incident will have long-term consequences on the relationship between Piastri and Sainz on track in the upcoming races of the season.
