Bad news for Carlos Sainz as Williams driver summoned to the stewards after F1 Las Vegas GP qualifying

Carlos Sainz qualified third for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, continuing his record in the qualifying session for remaining inside the top-three at the street track. However, the happiness could soon turn sour as the stewards have summoned the Spaniard for dangerously rejoining the track during Q1.

During Q1, the street track was in a treacherous condition, and drivers were going off to the left, right, and center. One such driver in the pursuit of finding grip was Sainz, who, in the early phase of the session, went off at turn 5.

On the other hand, Lance Stroll was the next driver approaching the turn and could see that the 31-year-old had gone straight into the runoff. Subsequently, it's the responsibility of the driver to rejoin the track safely, as Article 33.3 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations states:

"Should a car leave the track the driver may re-join, however, this may only be done when it is safe to do so and without gaining any lasting advantage."

But Sainz rejoined the track when Stroll was nearing the apex of turn 5. This compromised the Canadian's drive out of the corner, as it could be seen in the analysis of Sky Sports' Anthony Davidson of the whole incident:

So, Carlos Sainz could be in line to receive a penalty from the stewards if they deem that he had rejoined the track dangerously. Oftentimes, the penalty for such an incident is a five-place grid drop, which could see the Williams drop from an elated third grid slot to a decent eighth-place.

However, the verdict of the stewards is yet to come regarding Sainz's actions, where he can even avoid a penalty if he can convince them that he had done everything correctly on his own behalf.

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Carlos Sainz knew Williams FW47 had pace in it at the start of the weekend

Williams' Carlos Sainz in the post-qualifying press conference for the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas - Source: Getty

This is not the first time that Carlos Sainz has been at the front end of the field with Williams this season. At the Azerbaijan GP, he had qualified on the front row and claimed a podium when the checkered flag finally waved on the track.

While claiming a third place would be difficult for the Spaniard this weekend, he came into the race weekend knowing that the car would have pace underneath him to fight for solid results.

After FP1 and FP2, Sainz continued on the tangent of appreciation for the FW47 and said (via Williams):

"The balance of the car feels good, and the tyres feel okay, maybe too close to the limit but I think we’re on the right path."

Sainz has amassed 38 points in the 2025 season so far, with three more Grand Prix left to go before the F1 world goes into the winter break.

Edited by Geetansh Pasricha