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Carlos Sainz’s collision with Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix has caused major controversy in the paddock.
Sainz was fighting with Fernando Alonso when Piastri attempted to lap him on lap 39. At turn three, the pair collided, prompting an explosive radio message from the McLaren driver.
Sainz had ‘no idea’ Piastri was there as there was an issue with the automatic blue flags system. Several panels were continuously flashing during the race, making it difficult for the drivers to know whether they were actually being waved at them – even race winner Lando Norris was receiving them.
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David Coulthard says Carlos Sainz ‘cannot blame the technology’ for Oscar Piastri collision in Hungary
Piastri was not having any excuse from Sainz, calling his action ‘one of the dumbest things’ he has seen during a race.
Piastri even said Sainz was battling for last like it was the championship, criticising the Williams driver for not being aware of his surroundings. David Coulthard holds the same view, saying that drivers were acting like ‘the first day of school’ with the blue flags.
The former F1 driver says that, while there was an incident with the automatic system, the technology cannot be blamed, as the engineers need to be more attentive to what is happening on the track.
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Coulthard said via Up To Speed: “We have to get into the blue flag scenario in Budapest. It was like [the] first day of school, and I’m talking kindergarten, in the way that drivers were reacting to blue flags.
“Some will say the timing screens had an issue, but there is such a thing as just being spatially aware and your engineers actually looking over the pit wall.
“You can’t ever factor in qualifying on somebody coming out of the pit lane, but in a Grand Prix, when people are circulating at pace, you can usually tell – well, not usually, you absolutely can tell. It just wasn’t good enough. There was a lot of people not reacting to blue flags.
“A lot of frustration for everyone. And a very simple one from Max Verstappen, where he just went, ‘Morons!’, which probably is a cancelled word somewhere in the world, but I think we can all relate to what he means there.
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“So bottom line is you cannot blame the technology. There are marshals out there with blue flags. They are unpaid volunteers and they will wave that flag if they see fit.
“And also, as a driver you’re glancing in your mirrors. You’ve got to be aware of cars round about you. So everyone can do better quite frankly.”
Sainz’s radio had an outage as Piastri was coming up behind him, and James Vowles admitted that Williams’ communication could have been better in that situation. He finished the Hungarian Grand Prix in 18th, while Piastri retired with a gearbox failure.
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