Sainz explains why he was caught out in Piastri clash

Williams driver Carlos Sainz has opened up about the collision with McLaren's Oscar Piastri during the Hungarian Grand Prix, which resulted in a five-second penalty for the Spaniard. The incident occurred while Sainz was battling Fernando Alonso for position, with the Williams driver clipping Piastri's car as he cut across the track. Sainz explained that his steering wheel's blue light system, which alerts drivers to lapping cars, had been disabled due to GPS technical issues, leaving him unaware of Piastri's presence in his blind spot while he was focused on his own race. Sainz expressed regret for the incident but noted the difficulty of managing blue flags without the usual electronic aids, especially while engaged in a competitive fight. He suggested that, given the circumstances, more careful maneuvering from the lead cars might also be beneficial, though he ultimately accepted the penalty as part of a racing incident. Reflecting on the wider issue, Sainz pointed to the performance deficit of his car as the root cause, lamenting that being lapped twice signifies a poor performance that needs to be addressed through technical improvements. Despite the drama, Sainz felt his race had been promising until that point, noting that he was successfully battling with the Haas cars. He finished 18th, a result he found disappointing, and expressed confusion regarding a late-race pit stop strategy that dropped him behind his teammate Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman, calling the decision strange and unnecessary.