Carlos Sainz accuses Oscar Piastri of rookie error after Belgian GP crash

30 July 2023 , 16:12

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Carlos Sainz was critical of F1 rookie Oscar Piastri after their collision (Image: Sky Sports)

Carlos Sainz said it was the inexperience of Oscar Piastri that led to the first-lap crash which led to both of their retirements from the Belgian Grand Prix.

The pair made contact at La Source as they scrambled for position on the opening lap. Sainz was attempting to overtake Lewis Hamilton, while Piastri was trying to get beyond the Ferrari.

Three cars going into the same corner often leads to disaster and that was what happened to them after they touched. The McLaren man only managed a few more corners before he pulled up at the side of the track.

Sainz went on for longer but was clearly feeling the effects. Despite his best efforts, Ferrari made the decision to retire his car mid-way through the Spa race.

Afterwards, the Spaniard suggested Piastri wouldn't have made such a move if he wasn't a Formula 1 rookie. "I went to pass Lewis into turn one and I think I had the move pretty much done. And suddenly I received contact on my rear right from Oscar," he said.

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"I didn't expect him to choose to be three into turn one and for him to be so much up the inside. My opinion, if you want to know – I've been racing at Spa for seven or eight years and everyone who has tried that move on the very inside has always generated and incident or a crash.

"So if you look back at the past starts here, that's normally the case. Maybe a bit of an experience mistake, but that's how it goes. I didn't expect him there.

Piastri collided with the Ferrari and then with the wall (Sky Sports)

"I did, at one point, see that he was on the wall pretty much, but I was more focussed on my battle with Lewis and I didn't miss the apex or anything. I went to attack Lewis and Oscar went to attack Lewis and me, which I think was a bit optimistic."

Piastri admitted he was partially responsible for the collision, but also felt Sainz could have done more to avoid contact. "I think from Carlos' point of view, the move to the right surprised me a bit," said the Aussie.

"Then for myself, I think from there I was quite limited, maybe I could have braked a bit later and been further alongside, but it's very easy to say that with hindsight. I think once I was in that position it was quite hard to either go forward or go backwards, and I was kind of stuck. I tried to do the best I could from that position but there wasn't much I could do."

Daniel Moxon