Sainz handed unprecedented lap penalty after Williams safety car error at Silverstone

Carlos Sainz became the first driver in Formula 1 history to receive a penalty of an additional lap added to his race classification after Williams made a critical safety car error at the 2026 British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday.

Sainz crossed the finish line in 12th place, but was demoted to 17th and classified a lap down hours after the race following a stewards’ investigation. The penalty stemmed from a late-race safety car period triggered by Max Verstappen’s crash at Stowe on lap 46, which brought out the safety car for the final six laps of the race — a period that ended with Charles Leclerc taking victory for Ferrari.

Under the regulations, lapped cars were permitted to overtake the safety car on the penultimate lap and rejoin the lead pack. Sainz was among several drivers to do so, but Williams failed to notice that car 55 was not included in the race control message identifying which cars were entitled to unlap themselves.

The FIA stewards’ report explained the complexity of the situation, noting that Silverstone’s specific track and pit lane configuration meant Sainz had temporarily unlapped himself by crossing safety car line two after his pit stop — meaning he was technically not a lapped car at the relevant reference point under Article B5.13.4(c) when the message was issued.

“Given the exceptional track layout at this event, the stewards understand how the sequence of events may have contributed to the team’s confusion,” the report read. However, it also noted that Williams’ team representative acknowledged two distinct errors: failing to recognise that Sainz was not classified as a lapped car at the correct reference point, and failing to notice his car number was absent from the race control message.

“The team representative accepted that they inadvertently gained a lap when they were not entitled to do so,” the stewards concluded.

The result compounded a difficult afternoon for Williams. Team-mate Alex Albon had already retired on lap 43 with damage sustained from an opening-lap collision with Oliver Bearman, leaving Sainz as the team’s sole finisher — only for that result to be significantly downgraded in the post-race classification.