Carlos Sainz warned as Verstappen cleared in Hungary row
Carlos Sainz received an official warning from FIA stewards after impeding Max Verstappen during Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix Free Practice 1, while Verstappen escaped punishment for slowing to show his frustration. Stewards said the Williams driver's radio cable was disconnected, but he still should not have warmed his brakes on the racing line.
Key Takeaways
- Carlos Sainz was warned for braking early on the racing line and hindering Verstappen in Hungary FP1.
- Max Verstappen faced no further action after slowing and gesticulating at Turn 12.
- Sainz's radio cable was disconnected, so he missed engineer warnings about the approaching Red Bull.
- A separate Turn 9 probe involving Alpine reserve Paul Aron also ended with no further action against Sainz.
The flashpoint came early in FP1 at the Hungaroring, on the straight approaching Turn 12. According to the stewards' report cited by PlanetF1 and RacingNews365, Car 55 (Sainz) was on the racing line and braked early as Car 3 (Verstappen) arrived on a push lap. Verstappen had to move right to avoid a collision.
On team radio, Verstappen called the moment "unbelievable" and "really dangerous," saying Sainz "even slammed on the brakes," Motorsport.com reported. The likely cause soon emerged: Sainz told the pit wall his radio cable had disconnected.
Why did Carlos Sainz get a warning?
Team radio showed Sainz's engineer had warned him more than once that Verstappen was approaching. Because the cable was disconnected, those calls never reached him. Sainz told stewards he was preparing for a push lap and braking early to warm his brakes.
Stewards accepted the radio explanation but ruled that, without team warnings, he ought not to have prepared his brakes on the racing line and thereby hindered Verstappen. As the incident happened in free practice and did not endanger Verstappen, they imposed a warning rather than a harsher penalty.
Why was Max Verstappen let off?
After the near-miss, Verstappen slowed significantly at Turn 12 and gesticulated to mark his frustration at being impeded. Sainz then overtook the Red Bull. In the hearing, Verstappen said he was surprised to find the Williams so slow on the line but did not consider the incident dangerous.
Sainz said he was not affected by Verstappen slowing, and no other car was affected. Stewards therefore took no further action against the four-time champion—coverage that also sits alongside other high-stakes drama in our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries hub.
Was Carlos Sainz cleared in a second Hungary incident?
Yes. Toward the end of FP1, Sainz was again investigated for alleged erratic driving after meeting Paul Aron at Turn 9. Aron was cruising on the racing line as Sainz arrived on a flying lap; Sainz then slowed dramatically and appeared to crowd Aron as he repassed.
After reviewing video and hearing from Sainz, stewards accepted that he had simply aborted the lap and declared no further action. The FP1 session itself was led by Charles Leclerc for Ferrari, ahead of Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.