Liam Lawson delivered a harsh verdict on Carlos Sainz’s driving at the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, after a first-lap collision between the pair led to his retirement.
Starting down in 15th, Lawson needed an attacking afternoon to salvage a result at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, attacking at lights out on the long run down to Turn 1.
Whilst making up positions, he became entangled in an incident with Sainz, with the Spaniard taking avoiding action from Esteban Ocon’s Haas after a tap from Fernando Alonso.
However, this led to the Williams driver colliding with Lawson at Turn 1, the Kiwi then limping back to the garage to retire after just a few laps, capping off a miserable weekend.
Lawson was left far from impressed by the incident, accusing Sainz of not looking in his mirrors during the first corner melee that saw multiple drivers take to the grass.
“A lot of guys were sliding in Turn 1, but I left plenty of space next to Carlos, and I think he’s decided to cut the chicane,” he said to media, including Motorsport Week.
“But he hasn’t looked left, and I’m right there, he’s driving into me.
“It’s something that just sucks. I think you’ve got to have more awareness, honestly. It’s destroyed the side of my car, and I had to retire.”
Lawson the latest to criticise Mexico Turn 1 chaos
Lawson was coy on discussing the matter with Sainz, instead accusing him of poor driving standards at Turn 1 that added to already chaotic scenes on the first lap.
“I mean, there’s not really much I can say,” he bemoaned.
“I’m not saying he’s done it intentionally. I’m sure he’s not intentionally driven into me, but it’s just one of those things.
“I mean, I completely understand it’s Turn 1 on the first lap, it’s chaotic, but we’re all trying to be aware of what’s going on, and you can’t just decide to cut the chicane without looking to your left, because he’s hit me so hard that it’s just destroyed the whole side of the floor, broke my front wing, and just killed our race – we were three seconds a lap off after that.”
Sainz offered a succinct defence of his actions in Mexico, highlighting the aggressive racing by multiple drivers as the field tried to gain the advantage as the track narrowed for Turn 1.
“I think we were three or four into [Turn] 1 and there was a big melee,” he explained. “We were three or four cars side by side, like always in Mexico, a tricky one.”
READ MORE – How start contact caused Carlos Sainz to incur two speeding penalties in F1 Mexico GP
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