Carlos Sainz penalty for Safety Car infringement confirmed after 2026 Formula 1 British Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz has been handed a rare ‘penalty lap’ punishment following the British Grand Prix after a Safety Car infringement.

Sunday’s 52-lap race at Silverstone finished behind the Safety Car after a late crash for Max Verstappen’s Red Bull at Stowe.

On the penultimate lap, lapped drivers were allowed to overtake the Safety Car and rejoin at the back of the field per the regulations, with Sainz one of several drivers to complete the procedure.

However, it was noted after the race that the Williams driver had incorrectly unlapped himself having not been entitled to do so under Article B5.13.4c of the FIA F1 Regulations.

The stewards acknowledged that, “although Car 55 was lapped at Safety Car Line 1 when entering the pit lane, due to the specific track and pit lane configuration at Silverstone it had temporarily unlapped itself by the time it crossed the Line at the end of the lap.”

The document continued that “given the exceptional track layout at this event, the Stewards understand how the sequence of events may have contributed to the team’s confusion.”

However, the stewards also noted that the team failed to notice that Sainz “was not a lapped car at the relevant reference point”, and that Sainz “was not included in the Race Control message identifying the cars permitted to overtake the Safety Car.”

As a result, Sainz was handed one ‘penalty lap’, which “is one of the penalties available to [the Stewards] under the FIA International Sporting Code”.

It means that Sainz drops from P12, where he was classified originally, down to P17.