Sainz retires from Monaco GP after Hulkenberg and Colapinto collisions at restart

Carlos Sainz retired from the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday after back-to-back collisions with Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto at the second standing restart, with the Williams driver labelling the incidents as ‘stupid risks’ from experienced rivals who should have known better.

Sainz had recovered to 10th place following the late red flag and was holding that position through the Loews hairpin when his trajectory intersected with Hulkenberg’s Audi, which was on a tighter inside line. The contact sent the Williams into the wall with a heavy blow to the right-rear corner. As Sainz’s damaged car limped forward, Colapinto attempted to pass him into Portier, spun him around, and ended his race on the spot.

“I was on route to score another couple of points this weekend with a solid race, but unfortunately people at the restart just decided to take stupid risks,” Sainz said. “My race was over in a corner like Turn 6 that we’ve raced around here hundreds of times and we know it always bunches up. People are going for the dream move, get it wrong sometimes and I was the victim of it. To throw all the effort of the team and two points to the bin is very frustrating.”

Sainz reserved particular frustration for Hulkenberg, questioning how a driver of his experience could make such an error at a corner notorious for causing pile-ups. “There is maybe something to say because it’s quite impressive that with so much experience around a track like this — where every year it bunches up in Loews — people still do these kinds of mistakes,” he said. “It’s textbook Monaco, and you fall into the same mistakes sometimes.”

Hulkenberg offered a different account, explaining that he had been forced to take an extreme inside line to avoid a separate incident with Esteban Ocon. “I had to kind of avoid a crash with Ocon, therefore ended up on the very inside, all the way up on Loews corner on the kerb, full steering lock, then somehow inevitable Carlos came around and obviously made contact,” the German said. “It was carnage. It was pretty heated and it was pretty difficult there to not hit something or someone.”

Stewards sided with Sainz’s version of events, ruling Hulkenberg responsible for the first collision and handing him a 10-second penalty that cost him a potential ninth-place finish. Colapinto was not questioned about his own incident in the media pen, though Alpine’s post-race press release included an apology from the Argentine driver.