Sainz made contact with Piastri as the McLaren attempted to lap the Williams between Turns 2 and 3 on Lap 38, forcing the Australian briefly onto the grass as he fought to keep control of his car.
Piastri had made his second pit stop while leading and was attempting to remain within the margin required to stay ahead of teammate Lando Norris, who had extended his stint.
The contact cost Piastri crucial time and allowed Norris to make his stop on the following lap before emerging in the net lead, which he retained on his way to McLaren’s first victory of the season.
Sainz was battling Fernando Alonso near the rear of the field at the time and said he had not received the usual warning on his steering wheel that Piastri was approaching to lap him.
“We didn’t have blue lights on the steering wheel, which normally, when we are in fights like that one, where we are fighting for position, it helps us to understand whether we’re getting lapped or not,” Sainz said.
“So at this stage, I had no idea I was about to get lapped, and on top of that, yeah, I was in a big fight with Fernando, trying to undercut him into the corner, and I wouldn’t have expected Oscar to be there.
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“And even if he was there, he was in my dead spot on the angle, so it was impossible, honestly, from my side to avoid it.
“So better communication would have helped, but at the same time, it was a racing thing that sometimes happens.”
The FIA experienced issues with its electronic blue-flag system during the race, resulting in drivers receiving unclear or incomplete warnings on their steering-wheel displays.
Blue flags were reportedly being displayed without the number of the driver required to move aside, while some competitors did not receive the usual dashboard notification at all.
Race control instead relied on physical flags and the light panels positioned around the Hungaroring, although the malfunction created confusion over which cars were being instructed to let the leaders through.
Sainz said the system problems made it considerably more difficult to manage traffic while he was simultaneously fighting Alonso for position.
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“Something was wrong in the system, and today it was a very difficult day to control the blue flag,” he said.
“There are very clear rules around it. If we were not so slow, there wouldn’t be so many blue flags, so we know what the solution is.
“Last year there were almost no blue flags because the whole field was within half a second, and this year we were getting lapped twice.”
Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman also reported confusion caused by the malfunction, with drivers unable to determine whether the blue-flag warnings being displayed around the circuit applied to them or another nearby car.
However, the blue-flag failure was not the mitigating factor used by the stewards when they reduced Sainz’s punishment from the standard 10-second penalty for causing a collision.
The stewards found Sainz wholly responsible for the contact despite acknowledging that he had been informed by Williams that Piastri was approaching.
Instead, they determined that the positioning of the cars meant Piastri was not visible in Sainz’s mirrors immediately before the Australian attempted the overtake.
“On Lap 38, at the approach to Turn 3, Car 55 [Sainz] was engaged in a battle with Car 14 [Fernando Alonso],” the stewards said.
“The driver of Car 55 had been informed by the team that blue flags were being shown due to the approach of Car 81 [Piastri]. As Car 81 attempted to overtake, contact occurred between Cars 55 and 81.
“The Stewards determined that the driver of Car 55 was wholly responsible for the collision with Car 81. While the standard penalty for causing a collision is a 10-second time penalty, the Stewards identified a mitigating factor.
“At the point of the incident, the positioning of Car 55 relative to the circuit and the other cars meant that Car 81 was not visible to the driver of Car 55 prior to the attempted overtake. Although the driver had been informed that Car 81 was approaching, the Stewards accepted that the limited visibility reduced the degree of culpability.
“Taking this mitigating circumstance into account, the Stewards determined that a five-second time penalty, rather than the standard 10-second penalty, was appropriate.”
The punishment had no effect on Sainz’s final position, with the Williams driver finishing 18th and two laps behind Norris.
Piastri was able to continue without significant damage following the collision but made his anger clear immediately after the contact.
“Get out of the way you f**king idiot. Oh my god!” he said over the radio.
The Australian remained furious after the race and rejected the suggestion that the electronic system failure excused Sainz’s actions, pointing out that blue flags were still being displayed by the circuit’s marshal-operated panels.
“For me, there’s no excuse at all,” Piastri told Viaplay.
“That’s got to be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen on a race track.
“I don’t really care what excuse you give.”
Piastri remained on course to finish second after losing the position to Norris, but his race ended on Lap 56 when a gearbox failure forced him to stop at the exit of Turn 2.
Piastri’s victory hopes collapse as Norris wins Hungarian GP
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