No further action against Carlos Sainz at Japanese GP
27th March 2026Williams’ Carlos Sainz has escaped punishment from the stewards after his incident with Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson, in first practice at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Pirelli
During the opening hour of practice, Sainz was flagged by the stewards for driving slowly ahead of Lawson. Following their investigation, the stewards have deemed no further action as the appropriate response for the Spaniard.
In the session, it looked as if Sainz had slowed purposefully, in retaliation to hinder Lawson after the Kiwi impacted the Williams at turn nine.
However, the officials confirmed that Sainz had actually slowed to allow another car, Aston Martin’s Jak Crawford – who replaced Fernando Alonso for the session – to go through.
The American driver was able to drive through, passing both Sainz and Lawson at the exit of turn 11.
The stewards confirmed this version of events through the team radio between Williams and Sainz.
In their report, the Stewards said:
“Car 55 [Sainz] passed Car 30 [Lawson] after turn 9 and then slowed considerably through turns 10 and 11 with Car 30 close behind.
“It appeared from the video that the Driver of Car 55 had unnecessarily slowed to baulk Car 30 after Car 55 had been affected by Car 30 at turn 9, gone wide and then abandoned his push lap.
“However, the Driver of Car 55 explained that he had slowed because he had received a message from his team that another car, Car 34 (Jak Crawford), was approaching from behind on a push lap and the Driver of Car 55 was slowing only to ensure that he did not impede Car 34.
“The Driver of Car 55’s account was confirmed by the team radio and Car 34 passed both Car 55 and Car 30 after the exit of turn 11.
“The Stewards, therefore, determined to take no further action.”
Read more Formula 1 here:
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- Japan Grand Prix Preview: Mercedes look to extend dominance in Suzuka
- Mercedes reveals new ‘livery’ for Japanese GP
- Haas F1 reveal special Japanese Grand Prix livery
- Jak Crawford to drive Aston Martin in Japanese GP FP1
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
