While Carlos Sainz slammed Nico Hülkenberg for colliding into him at the race restart, the German shared his own perspective of the incident and the penalty he received after both F1 drivers had finished outside the points at the 2026 Monaco GP on Sunday.
As the session resumed under the Safety Car in the aftermath of a red flag, Sainz and Hülkenberg found themselves running in P10 and P12, respectively, on the city streets of Monte Carlo.
However, following a standing start on Lap 71, the Audi driver dived to the inside of Esteban Ocon’s Haas before tagging Sainz’s left-rear wheel at the hairpin. The Spaniard’s FW48 hitting the barrier and sustaining damage effectively ended what looked to be a double points finish for the Grove-based team.
Although the ailing Williams managed to trundle along, Franco Colapinto attempted and then failed to pass it into Portier, spinning Sainz around. Consequently, he retired from the race.
Meanwhile, the FIA handed Hülkenberg a 10-second time penalty post-race for causing a collision, dropping him down to P13.
Sainz expresses utter frustration over Hülkenberg collision at 2026 Monaco GP
Speaking in the print media pen after the F1 race, Carlos Sainz talked through how Nico Hülkenberg had tagged him at the race restart and quashed his hopes of finishing in the top ten at the 2026 Monaco GP.
Noting how he had demonstrated solid pace before the red flag was waived due to track break-up, the four-time race winner maintained that a couple of points were up for grabs.
Thereafter, Sainz labelled Hülkenberg’s manoeuvre as mindless and risky and slammed him for attempting an overtake amidst a tightly bunched field. Moreover, he admitted that he was vexed by his and the team’s efforts going to waste.
“Yeah, very well managed race up until that restart. I think we did a very good, solid pace, very good race in general. I was on route to score another couple of points this weekend with a solid race.
“But unfortunately, people at the restart decided to take stupid risks and my race was over in a corner like Turn 6 that we’ve raced around here hundreds of times. And we know it always bunches up; and people [who] are going for the dream move get it wrong sometimes and I was the victim of it.
“So yeah, very frustrating. To throw all the effort of the team and two points to the bin is very frustrating.”
Potential talk about the incident
Asked if he would have a conversation with Nico Hülkenberg regarding the Lap 71 incident in Sunday’s Monaco GP, Carlos Sainz didn’t appear too enthusiastic.
At the same time, the Madrid native refused to hold back in his criticism of the German’s move at the tight hairpin of the Circuit de Monaco and remarked that a veteran F1 driver like him should’ve had the foresight to not commit such a senseless error.
“No, not yet.
“There is maybe something to say because it’s quite impressive that with so much experience around a track like this that every year it bunches up in Loews, people still can do these kinds of mistakes. It’s textbook Monaco, and you fall into the same mistakes sometimes.”
Hülkenberg’s view of the contact with Sainz and the penalty he received at the 2026 Monaco GP
However, Nico Hülkenberg didn’t quite share the same opinion as Carlos Sainz and made it clear that he didn’t agree with the stewards’ decision to hit him with a 10-second penalty at the 2026 Monaco GP.
The one-time F1 podium finisher explained that he was taking evasive action as the pack bunched up heading into the hairpin at the race restart, leaving him nowhere to go.
“Of course not. But I only obviously have my one-time live moment.
“Esteban [Ocon] was swerving around a bit. I had to kind of avoid a crash with him. Therefore, [I] ended up on the very inside, all the way up on Loews corner on the kerb, full steering lock.
“Then somehow inevitable Carlos [Sainz] came around, and obviously made contact… Racing.”
Revealing he was unaware that George Russell, who was running in third at the time, had backed up the pack and exacerbated the traffic at the hairpin, the 38-year-old reiterated that the contact was unavoidable and that he was unhappy with the penalty he received.
“Russell? At the restart? I didn’t see that.
“It was carnage. It was pretty heated, and it was pretty difficult there to not hit something or someone.
“So, I need to re-watch [it] on TV. But of course, I’m not happy, and I don’t agree with it on first sight.”
