The tension from the Hungaroring has finally eased. Oscar Piastri has confirmed he exchanged messages with Carlos Sainz following the collision that sparked fury at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Turn 2 incident cost Piastri the lead of the race. While working through lapped traffic after his second pit stop, Sainz, fighting Fernando Alonso at the back of the field, swung back onto the racing line just as Piastri moved up the inside. Contact was inevitable.
Piastri's immediate reaction over team radio was scathing, calling it "unacceptable" and one of the dumbest things he had ever seen on track. But after the dust settled, his tone is far more measured.
Behind the anger was a technical factor: the GPS-based blue flag system had been malfunctioning since lap six, leaving drivers without cockpit warnings and forcing race control to revert to manual marshalling. However, post-race analysis showed Sainz had passed seven trackside blue flag panels before the collision and had been informed over team radio that Piastri was approaching.
The stewards deemed Sainz wholly responsible and handed him a five-second penalty. Piastri ultimately retired from the race on Lap 56 with an unrelated gearbox failure.
Ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, the 24-year-old confirmed communication had taken place. "We had a couple of messages," he told media, including RacingNews365. He did not reveal the content, but his tone was notably calmer than his outburst at the Hungaroring.
Asked if the matter would be discussed in the drivers' briefing at Zandvoort, Piastri stressed the importance of shared responsibility. "The system not working was obviously not ideal, but at the end of the day, the teams and drivers have a responsibility to follow the rules," he said.
He also touched on the uniqueness of F1's blue flag system. In his view, it doesn't need a fundamental overhaul, just extra attention when things go wrong. "We're probably the only series with that system. When it doesn't work, obviously there needs to be more attention on blue flags," he concluded.
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