Carlos Sainz will start Formula 1‘s Mexico City Grand Prix with a five-place grid penalty for a collision with Andrea Kimi Antonelli during the United States Grand Prix.
Having taken a Sprint Race podium on Saturday, Sainz was bidding to convert a top-10 start into another points haul in the main event at the Circuit of the Americas.
The Spaniard had been making strong progress until an attempted overtake on Antonelli into Turn 15 on the seventh lap saw him tip the Mercedes driver into a spin.
Antonelli was able to continue, but the Italian couldn’t salvage points. Meanwhile, the damage incurred on the Williams saw Sainz come to a halt before the pit lane.
Following the race, the stewards investigated the incident and found that Sainz was predominantly to blame, outlining that he hadn’t earned the right to racing room.
But Sainz defended his actions, explaining that he believed the move was on and the contact came about because Antonelli closed the door as the corner tightened.
“Yeah, I was coming quite quickly and feeling confident, obviously,” Sainz told media including Motorsport Week.
“I felt like I had a lot of pace today again in the car, and I had just done a very similar move on Ollie [Bearman] in Turn 15 at the time. So I went for the same move on Antonelli.
“I think he started closing the door earlier than I expected, and I ultimately locked up and got a bit scared by him closing on me.
“I think the incident looks a lot worse than what it actually is because, again, it’s just a small lock-up with high consequences.”
The Williams driver remained adamant that without the contact with Antonelli, he would have been able to score points again in Austin.
“I think George [Russell] looked to be struggling in front of Kimi. We could’ve got points,” he added.
Risk vs reward saw Sainz and Antonelli’s US GP ruined
Sainz recognised that he could have been more patient as he was sitting in a points position at the time, but he claimed that taking risks is part and parcel of racing.
“I mean, you can always play it safe and bring home the P8 and wonder,” he acknowledged.
“Then you always go for a move. Sometimes with Ollie, it works perfectly, and it goes smoothly.
“With Kimi, he was a bit more aggressive, a bit more closing the door, and it was more difficult to get the move done. And then you go home with zero.
“So this sport is just a very fine balance between just playing it safe, bringing home the P8 or risking it a bit more to try and bring home the P7 or the P6.”
As a result, Sainz will now face an added challenge heading to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, where overtaking is notoriously difficult due to the high altitude.
“Yeah, it’s racing. It’s the same as always,” he said.
“One day, you look like a hero. The next day, people will criticise you and bring you down. The next day, you get a good result, and it’s the opposite. So it’s racing.”
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