Explained: What happened to Carlos Sainz? Why the Williams driver is already out of the F1 Austrian GP

Williams driver Carlos Sainz had a disastrous end to the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, as he had to abort the race due to a technical failure. After his car got stuck on the formation lap, he drove back to the pit lane, and his rear brakes caught fire, resulting in an early DNF.

Sainz was already having a terrible weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, as he crashed out of Q1 in the qualifying session on Saturday, June 28. He had to start the race from P19.

However, on Sunday, June 29, Sainz was stuck on the track during the formation lap. He informed on the team radio that something was stopping the car from moving forward. While the stewards tried to push him forward, Sainz somehow got the car running and drove back to the pit lane, keeping the hopes of a start alive.

However, on reaching the pit lane, his rear-end brakes caught fire due to excess heat, and marshals rushed with fire extinguishers to contain the fire. With both his rear brakes blown up, it was impossible for Carlos Sainz to continue the race.

Sainz's race engineer asked him to jump out of the car, saying, 'Game Over.' With that, he was out of the 2025 Austrian GP even before it could begin due to a technical failure. After the whole chaos, stewards delayed the race start by 10 minutes.

In what turned out to be a double blow for Williams, Alex Albon also retired on lap 17 due to an undisclosed technical failure. Williams' race weekend is now over as they walk away without a single point from this race.

With 55 points, the Grove-based squad was placed fifth in the Constructors' championship before the start of the Austrian GP.

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Karun Chandhok reacts to Carlos Sainz's DNF in Austria

Carlos Sainz stuck on track at tbe F1 Grand Prix of Austria - Source: Getty

Carlos Sainz had to abort his race on the formation lap after a significant failure of the rear brakes. His rear brakes blew up in the pit lane, which forced him to retire from the race before it could begin on Sunday at the Red Bull Ring.

F1 pundit Karun Chandhok, meanwhile, sympathized with the Williams driver and called it a 'deflating moment.' Talking to Sky Sports, Chandhok said:

"That is such a deflating moment for the drivers. I had that a couple times in my career. You do all your pre-race prep, and then something goes wrong. It's like a massive balloon that just goes pop, not just for Sainz but for all of the engineers."

After Carlos Sainz's DNF, the Austrian GP was delayed by 10 minutes. On lap one, Kimi Antonelli crashed into Max Verstappen, resulting in two more DNFs. Verstappen, who is fighting for his fifth title, received a major blow, as the DNF will cost him significantly.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam