Carlos Sainz Reveals System Failure Behind Oscar Piastri Collision

Carlos Sainz has revealed that a steering-wheel system failure was the primary cause of his incident with Oscar Piastri during the 2026 Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

The collision occurred at Turn 2 on lap 39 as Piastri attempted to protect his advantage over Lando Norris in the battle for the lead. The McLaren driver had completed his second stop six laps earlier, while Norris remained on track.

Sainz was fighting Fernando Alonso at the time and attempted to take the inside line into the corner. The Williams then moved across Piastri’s path, forcing the Australian to make a major correction to avoid losing control.

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The contact cost Piastri enough time for Norris to stop and return to the circuit ahead of his team-mate. The stewards later issued Sainz a five-second penalty for causing the collision.

Sainz explained that the blue warning lights normally displayed on his steering wheel were not working. The system is designed to help drivers recognise when a faster car is approaching to lap them, particularly when they are engaged in a fight for position.

“We did not have the blue lights on the steering wheel. Normally, when we are in a fight like that, the system helps us understand whether we are about to be lapped,” Sainz said.

“At that stage, I had no idea I was about to be lapped. I was also in a big fight with Fernando and trying to undercut him into the corner, so I would not have expected Oscar to be there.”

Sainz also stated that Piastri was positioned in his blind spot as the two cars approached the corner. He believes the combination of the system failure, limited communication and the angle of the cars made the incident almost impossible to avoid from his perspective.

“Even if I knew he was there, he was in my blind spot at that angle. From my side, it was honestly very difficult to avoid,” he said.

The Williams driver acknowledged that better communication could have helped, although he still regarded the contact as the type of racing incident that can occur in heavy traffic.

Sainz finished the race in 18th. His penalty ultimately had no effect on Piastri’s final result because the McLaren driver retired with a gearbox failure while running second with 14 laps remaining.

Sainz believes the difficulty of managing blue flags also reflected the wider performance gaps across the 2026 field. He argued that Williams would not encounter so many lapping situations if its car were more competitive.

“Last year there were almost no blue flags because the entire field was within around half a second. This year, we were being lapped twice,” Sainz said.