​Carlos Sainz faced an unusual penalty after the 2026 British Grand Prix when the Williams driver incorrectly unlapped himself under a late safety car. A crash by Max Verstappen on lap 46 at Stowe forced the Silverstone race to run under the safety car for the final six laps, with Charles Leclerc taking victory for Ferrari. Sainz, who had finished 12th, ultimately dropped to 17th and was a lap down following the punishment.
Under the regulations, lapped cars were allowed to overtake the safety car on the penultimate lap and rejoin the pack, and Sainz was among several drivers who did so. Williams, however, did not realize that Sainz was not included in the “lapped cars” message, meaning he should have stayed put. It is believed this led to Sainz becoming the first F1 driver to have a lap added to his final classification.
An FIA report stated: “The stewards heard from the team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing and in-car video evidence. Carlos Sainz, Williams. Although car 55 was lapped at safety car line one when entering the pit lane, due to the specific track and pit lane configuration at Silverstone, it had temporarily unlapped itself by the time it crossed the line at the end of the lap, during which it crossed safety car line two for the second time after the safety car was deployed. Consequently, car 55 was not a lapped car for the purposes of Article B5.13.4 c) and was therefore not entitled to overtake the safety car when the ‘lapped cars may now overtake’ message was displayed. However, car 55 unlapped itself once the message was displayed by race control. The stewards noted that, after completing its pit stop, car 55 once again was a lapped car when it re-joined the track.”
Given the event’s exceptional track layout, the stewards acknowledged how the sequence of events might have caused some team confusion. The Williams representative conceded two errors: first, failing to recognise that car 55 was not a lapped car at the relevant reference point under Article B5.13.4 c); second, failing to note that car 55 was not included in the race control message listing the cars permitted to overtake the safety car. The representative accepted that the team had inadvertently gained a lap when they were not entitled to do so.
Sainz was the only Williams driver to finish the race after teammate Alex Albon retired on lap 43 following damage from an opening-lap collision with Oliver Bearman. For more Motorsport.com coverage, visit our site.