It seems former Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner has a bone to pick with the FIA, and he’s not mincing words. The charismatic principal is openly criticizing the governing body for what he believes was an overly lenient penalty handed to Carlos Sainz after his collision with Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Key Takeaways from Steiner’s Scathing Review
- Carlos Sainz was hit with a mere 5-second penalty for impeding and making contact with Oscar Piastri at the Hungaroring.
- The FIA cited technical glitches, including faulty GPS and blue flag software, as reasons for the lighter sanction.
- Steiner vehemently argues that a standard 10-second penalty should have been applied to set a crucial precedent.
- He believes the FIA used technical issues as an excuse, undermining the integrity of blue flag rules.
The Budapest Blue Flag Debacle
The incident in question occurred during the Hungarian Grand Prix, a race fraught with strategic battles and on-track drama. As Oscar Piastri, having pitted from the lead, navigated through backmarkers, Carlos Sainz failed to yield appropriately. This resulted in contact with Piastri’s McLaren.
Initially, the stewards issued a 5-second penalty to Sainz. The justification for this seemingly mild punishment was attributed to widespread technical issues during the grand prix, including a faulty GPS tracking system and a glitch in the blue flag software.
Steiner's Fiery Verdict: No Excuses!
Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner dismissed the FIA's reasoning outright. He believes Carlos Sainz should have received the standard 10-second penalty for the blue-flag incident, arguing that the outcome of the race would not have been affected regardless of the circumstances.
"Right or wrong, nothing would have changed anyway," Steiner said, noting that Sainz was already running at the back of the field. "So just make a point that you don’t do that under whatever software glitch or whatever it is. Blue flags, they are out there. Get 10 seconds as normal."
He stressed that there was little reason to consider mitigating factors in the decision. "Don’t try mitigating circumstances. Who cares about mitigating circumstances? It was clearly a blue flag. 10 seconds is standard and he should have got that. Nothing would have changed anyway."
Software Issues Should Not Excuse the Incident
Steiner also suggested that the officials may have taken the system malfunction into account because it contributed to the confusion, but insisted the priority should be ensuring such issues do not happen again. "First, you need to make sure that the systems work. I think they use that as a mitigating [factor] because they know that they didn't help the situation."
The incident ultimately proved costly for Oscar Piastri, whose hopes of fighting for victory were compromised after the contact allowed McLaren team-mate Lando Norris to move into the lead. Piastri later retired from the race with a gearbox problem. Sainz eventually crossed the line in 18th place at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Williams driver heads into the summer break 15th in the drivers' standings with six points, while Piastri sits seventh with 92 points.
Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, scheduled for 21-23 August.
