F1 must fix penalty "lottery", Toro Rosso's Sainz believes
Carlos Sainz Jr has called for Formula 1 to eliminate the "lottery" surrounding whether drivers get penalties during grands prix
F1's stewarding process has been in the spotlight this year, with a debate growing over the number of regulations being put in place over wheel-to-wheel battling.
While some teams and drivers have called for there to be less interference from officials when incidents occur, Sainz believes a more consistent line-up of stewards would help solve the problem.
"This is what Formula 1 needs to understand, either to look at it incident by incident or to put a fixed rule," said Sainz, who was penalised for forcing Fernando Alonso off the road at the start of the Mexican GP.
"Nowadays it's difficult to know what will happen to you if you do a certain move that is a tiny bit on the limit.
"It's a bit of a lottery to get a penalty or not.
"I heard that [in Mexico] there were very similar situations with mine and Fernando's incident and that there were no penalties.
"Us drivers need to race with a very clear thing in mind when we overtake a guy.
"When we go [to the stewards] we need to know what they think about these rules."
While F1 has a cast of ex-drivers that take turns as stewards at each grand prix, Sainz believes the same officials are required for every race.
"I've said [F1 should have fixed stewards] my whole Formula 1 career," he added.
"It's understandable - humans are humans - you will have a different opinion to me, so every race there will be very different opinions.
"At the moment we never know what to expect about a move or after an accident.
"After seeing Fernando on the grass in Mexico do they give me a penalty or do they think it was a great move?
"[With fixed stewards] probably the criteria will be a lot closer every weekend.
"Maybe not always the same, but a lot closer."
Williams F1 team announces rookie Stroll and Bottas as 2017 drivers
Williams F1 2017 signing Lance Stroll dismisses pay-driver claims
Hamilton: "Way more" to be done to help progression from W Series
Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton believes “way more” needs to be done to help ensure progression from W Series and give women more opportunities in racing.
Autosport Podcast: Ranking the top 10 Arrows F1 drivers
The Arrows Formula 1 team was a mainstay of the world championship for 24 years between 1978 and 2002, with its perennial underdog status earning widespread admiration.
The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
Ferrari: F1 team orders idea discussed more outside than internally
Ferrari says the use of team orders between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz is “more discussed outside Ferrari than inside Ferrari” as it targets parity with its Formula 1 drivers.
The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24 into a winning car with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. And now it’s happening again at his current team, but can the rate of progress be matched this year?
Why few could blame Leclerc for following the example of Hamilton’s exit bombshell
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…
Could F1 move to a future beyond carbonfibre?
Formula 1 has ambitious goals for improving its carbon footprint, but could this include banishing its favoured composite material? PAT SYMONDS considers the alternatives to carbonfibre and what use, if any, those materials have in a Formula 1 setting