Carlos Sainz has revealed that his lap-one collision with Liam Lawson in Mexico triggered a chain of technical problems that ruined his race.
“In that contact, we damaged the rim of the first set of tyres, which caused massive vibrations,” Sainz explained after the race.
The Spaniard disclosed that the Turn 1 incident damaged more than just his wheel – it knocked out his front tire sensors, which had unexpected consequences throughout his race.
“We lost all the sensors of the front tyres, which meant we lost the possibility to engage the pit limiter. Every time I was going through the pit lane we were having issues, because the sensor wasn’t reading and I didn’t know at which speed I was going.”
This sensor failure led to a double pit-lane speeding penalty that crushed his chances of scoring points.
The damage from that first-lap collision proved too much to overcome.
“In the end, even though we were on for a points-scoring position today, we just had too many issues with the car — too many problems stemming from that Turn 1 incident,” Sainz added.
He eventually retired from the race, capping off a disappointing weekend with zero points. His teammate didn’t fare much better, finishing in 12th place.
## FIA explains controversial late VSC decision
Sainz’s late-race retirement sparked a heated debate among fans.
Despite parking his Williams safely in the run-off area, officials still triggered a Virtual Safety Car, neutralizing the race just as things were heating up between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc for second place.
Many fans were furious, arguing the VSC wasn’t necessary since Sainz’s car wasn’t in a dangerous position.
The FIA later issued a public explanation defending race control’s decision to deploy the VSC, citing safety protocols that needed to be followed.
What could have been an epic battle for the podium was cut short, leaving fans wondering what might have been in those final laps.
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