(Motorsport-Total.com) – It was the big upset of the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix when McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who had been on course for victory until then, was touched by Carlos Sainz (Williams) in a lapping maneuver on lap 38. Piastri subsequently lost the lead to his teammate Lando Norris – and later became the tragic hero of the afternoon when he also retired with a technical defect.
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“At that moment, I had no idea I was about to be lapped, and I was in the middle of a battle with Fernando,” Sainz justifies himself. “I didn’t expect Oscar to suddenly appear. But even if I had expected him: He was in my blind spot. It was impossible for me to prevent the situation.”
What the TV images initially didn’t reveal: Due to a system error, Formula 1 drivers couldn’t see blue flag signals on the displays in their cockpits, as has been customary for years. Instead, the lapping warnings at the Hungaroring were only displayed conventionally with physical blue flags and light signals at the trackside. An irritation for many.
Sainz admits that “better communication might have helped” – thus shifting some of the responsibility to his race engineer. At the same time, he says: “Things like that just happen sometimes in racing.”
Ralf Schumacher: Zero understanding for Sainz
A rather flippant “apology” that Ralf Schumacher won’t let the Spaniard get away with. The Sky expert can understand that Piastri was “furious”: “Okay, the two are fighting. But sorry: It’s about nothing. No one was fighting for points. Then the race leader comes, and the two are unable to make way for him. And Sainz then drives into his car. An absolute no-go from my point of view.”
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Even before the FIA race stewards assessed the incident, Schumacher demanded a harsh penalty: “A normal ten-second penalty won’t be enough. For me, Sainz should also be penalized for the next race. An additional penalty in qualifying. Because that sets a precedent. That simply must not happen.”
In reality, however, the stewards were more lenient. Sainz received a five-second penalty. Actually, up to ten seconds were stipulated in the regulations for such an offense. However, Sainz’s argument that he had Piastri in his blind spot was accepted as a mitigating circumstance.
It wasn’t the only incident…
Incidentally, it was just one of several tricky situations in Hungarian traffic that could ultimately be attributed to the failure of the cockpit signals. Another occurred between Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Schumacher also shows no understanding for the young Brazilian: “You have the engineer, you ask, you look in the mirror. And if he tells me he can’t look in the mirror when he’s driving, then he’s overwhelmed. Then he has to stop. That’s really unsportsmanlike.”
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