The 2025 F1 Italian GP at Monza delivered drama throughout, but one particular incident between Carlos Sainz and Ollie Bearman left both drivers frustrated and out of the points after what had been promising races for each.
The incident
The collision occurred during the fight for P13, with both drivers battling hard in the midfield pack. Sainz, running on hard tyres after starting on mediums, had built up pace and was making his way through the field when he got a run on Bearman heading into the second chicane.
During the F1 Italian GP race, the two drivers tangled at the chicane, with Bearman feeling that Sainz turned in on him. Both cars spun but were able to continue, though the incident allowed Isack Hadjar to overtake both drivers in the aftermath.
Bearman’s perspective
Speaking after the race in the print media pen, the Haas driver remained cautious about apportioning blame before reviewing the incident properly.
“Yeah, I haven’t looked fully into it. I need to have a look, but it’s a shame because we were having a good race,” Bearman said when asked about the collision with Sainz.
The young Briton was philosophical about the penalty he received, acknowledging the need for objectivity, saying, “I haven’t seen back the incident. It’s tough until you watch it back without emotion.”
Despite the setback, Bearman was confident about what could have been, suggesting a points finish was well within reach. “Well, I mean, definitely in the points, I was right behind [Gabriel] Bortoleto, in front of Hadjar, so I think we easily have points on our foot today.”
Sainz’s frustration
For Sainz, the incident represented a particularly bitter pill to swallow, coming as it did when Williams appeared to have good pace and a points finish looked achievable.
“Yeah, obviously frustrated, you know, in P11, when we were in the fight for good points there with Ollie,” Sainz explained. “Today we were the last of the medium starters, so it was always going to be difficult to make a comeback.”
The Spaniard revealed his pre-race concerns about tyre strategy had proved prescient. “I feel like everyone who started on hard today benefited in terms of strategy, and being the last of the medium starters, I still managed to extend the medium, trying to make it look a bit like a hard, trying to go very, very long,” he explained.
Despite the disadvantage, Sainz felt the car had good pace once he switched to the hard compound. “Then we were having good pace on the hard, coming back through the field, and unfortunately, we ran into contact with Ollie, and that, yeah, I picked up damage at the end, lost five to ten seconds of race time when we were fighting for our top eight.”
Strategic regrets
Sainz was particularly candid about his pre-race feelings regarding Williams’ tyre strategy, admitting he had wanted to start on the hard compound.
When asked about any confusion, he admitted, “No, just frustration, because before the race I had the feeling I wanted to start on hard, but we decided to split the strategy.
“I think for the benefit of the team we decided to go one way and the other, and I felt like today everyone who started on hard probably benefited from that.”
The Williams driver also mentioned additional complications that hampered their race. “We also ran into some issues with the battery, we didn’t have a very clean day in general, and yeah, I wish, even with all that, we were still fighting for our top nine, top eight in the collision with Ollie, so we could have still got a few points.”
Looking ahead to Azerbaijan
Despite the frustration, Sainz remained optimistic about upcoming races, particularly the next round in Baku.
“Yeah, I think Baku coming up, we should be strong. I think there’s going to be plenty of tracks out there where we can still score good points, but it’s rather frustrating not to be scoring them right now in Zandvoort and here when I was quick again, so yeah, frustrating.”
The incident serves as another reminder of how quickly fortunes can change in Formula 1, with both drivers having shown good pace before their collision ended realistic hopes of points finishes at Monza.
The stewards ultimately deemed Bearman at fault for the incident with Sainz during the F1 Italian GP, handing him a penalty, though the Haas driver’s measured response suggests he’ll reserve full judgement until he’s had a chance to review the footage without the heat of competition clouding his analysis.
