Williams’ Carlos Sainz has been slapped with a five‑place grid penalty for Saturday’s Baku Grand Prix after breaching yellow‑flag rules.
At the close of Q3, a yellow flag appeared in Turn 3 when Lando Norris slid onto the escape road. Though Norris rejoined before Sainz arrived, the Spaniard still had to respect the local caution.
His race engineer warned him of the yellow and asked for a slight lift, yet the stewards noted the driver only eased off in sector 5, not in both affected zones, and imposed the sanction.
Sainz claimed he had reduced speed along the whole stretch, but his fastest mini‑sector time came in sector 4, prompting the officials to reject his argument.
The stewards wrote that Sainz said he intended a “global lift” across the yellow area, arguing the hazard had cleared and the flags should have been withdrawn.
They dismissed that view, stating each yellow‑flag sector demands a distinct speed reduction; a later slowdown cannot cover an earlier one.
Telemetry showed Sainz reacted only in sector 5, with no meaningful slowdown in sector 4, where he actually set his quickest time of the session.
Consequently, the Spaniard drops from ninth to 14th on the grid, erasing part of Williams’ hard‑earned progress after introducing a lighter chassis and new floor for Baku.
For my money, the penalty underscores that safety rules will be enforced rigorously, regardless of recent technical gains.
Sergio Perez pulled up for impeding in Baku’s risky final sector
Cadillac’s Sergio Perez took a three‑place drop after impeding McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in Q1, where a preparation lap on Baku’s long straight sparked debate over closing speeds.
Perez ignored race director Rui Marques’ instruction to stay on the extreme left, forcing Piastri, who was 50 km/h quicker, to lift off the throttle.
Stewards deemed the incident non‑dangerous but still penalised Perez for obstruction and disobeying direct orders.
Nevertheless, Perez will line up from his original 20th spot, as the two cars behind him—Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll—carry heavier engine‑related penalties.
Will the stewards tighten yellow‑flag enforcement after this?
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– The Team