Carlos Sainz hit with rare lap penalty after British GP safety car error

Carlos Sainz was handed a rare post-race penalty after the 2026 British Grand Prix, with the Williams Formula 1 driver dropping from 12th to 17th after incorrectly unlapping himself during the late safety car period at Silverstone.

Safety car sequence reshapes Sainz’s result

On the penultimate tour, race control allowed lapped cars to overtake the safety car and rejoin the queue. Sainz was among several drivers who moved past, but the key issue was that his car was not included in the official ‘lapped cars’ message. That meant he should have remained in position rather than attempting to recover the lap.

FIA explains Williams’ mistake

The stewards reviewed positioning and marshalling system data, video, timing information and in-car footage before applying the penalty. Their report stated that although Sainz’s car was lapped at safety car line one when entering the pit lane, Silverstone’s specific track and pit-lane configuration meant he had temporarily unlapped himself by the end of that lap.

As a result, the FIA ruled that car 55 was not a lapped car for the purposes of the relevant regulation and therefore was not entitled to pass the safety car when the message was issued.

The stewards noted Williams’ explanation but also recorded the team’s admission. The FIA report said the representative accepted the team made two errors: failing to recognise Sainz’s status at the relevant reference point, and failing to notice that car 55 was absent from the race-control list of cars permitted to overtake.

The report added that Williams accepted it had inadvertently gained a lap when it was not entitled to do so.

Williams leaves Silverstone with one classified finisher

Sainz had originally crossed the line 12th, but the penalty moved him to 17th and one lap down in the final classification. It is understood to be the first time an F1 driver has had a lap added to his final race result as a penalty.

Williams’ race had already been compromised, with Alex Albon retiring on lap 43 due to damage from an opening-lap collision with Oliver Bearman. Sainz was therefore the team’s only finisher, but his final result became defined by a procedural mistake under one of the most tightly controlled phases of a Grand Prix.