Carlos Sainz's obstruction of Oscar Piastri at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix has only deepened the frustration surrounding the Williams F1 driver, further damaging his standing among rivals who already viewed him with serious scepticism.
James Vowles, Team Principal of Williams Racing, isn’t putting the Hungarian Grand Prix collision solely on Sainz. Instead, he’s pointing to a broken blue‑flag system, unclear team messaging, and Fernando Alonso’s refusal to yield.
Piastri - who lost the lead because of the contact - blasted Sainz as an “idiot” and later called the move “the dumbest thing” he’d ever seen.
Sainz took a five-second penalty for the contact, while Piastri later retired for an unrelated reason.
Onboard footage shows Sainz driving past several flashing blue lights and being overtaken twice by Alonso seconds before the crash. Vowles says the Spaniard should have moved aside earlier, and admits Williams didn’t warn their driver at the right moment. Stewards still held him fully responsible, however, but issued a reduced penalty due to limited visibility.
What's Been Said About Carlos Sainz
Nate Saunders, a senior Formula 1 writer and journalist for ESPN, said: "It's hard to ignore the cloud over Sainz going into the break following his collision with Piastri in Hungary.
"Piastri called it 'one of the dumbest things I've ever seen on a racetrack,' and given Sainz's intelligence and experience, it's hard to disagree.
"Worst of all is that Sainz seems to be a repeat offender; he stayed on the racing line while being shown blue flags as the race leader Leclerc approached at the British Grand Prix, and he's becoming known among his peers for being one of the worst for blocking in practice, too. That all might be more forgivable for a rookie, but this is Sainz's 12th season in F1."
The Lap 39 incident stripped Piastri of the lead, paving the way for Lando Norris to inherit the position and secure victory. The Australian branded Sainz’s collision with him in Hungary as “unacceptable,” adding that he ought to “look in the mirror” considering how often he’s criticised fellow drivers.
"Two problems took place," Vowles said. "That flag system just wasn't working. In fact, at one point, we were just operating with marshals doing their best, but waving blue flags, and it's a very difficult thing for marshals to do; they don't know when the cars are coming by and trigger that.
"What happened is he took an opportunity to go inside of Carlos into turn one. So, at that stage, Carlos then became the car behind, and when you do have a number of marshal posts to therefore give up position. However, on the run down turn two, Carlos was back ahead now, so the car behind is Fernando, again with the light boards."
Vowles clarified that there was no effort to impede Piastri, noting that a different car behind them should have yielded before they did.
- Cody Marmon
