McLaren driver Oscar Piastri accused Carlos Sainz of unacceptable conduct after their collision during the Hungarian Grand Prix. The incident stemmed from a blue flag system malfunction that left drivers without clear signals. Lando Norris went on to win the race for McLaren.
Oscar Piastri, who started from the lead, lost time after Sainz veered into his McLaren at Turn 2 on lap 38. The Williams driver was being lapped while battling Fernando Alonso and failed to yield despite marshal blue flags being shown.
Piastri said after the race that the clash was unacceptable. He noted that blue flags appeared on all marshal signals and added that Sainz should look in the mirror after fighting for last place as if it were the world championship.
Sainz explained that his steering wheel showed no blue lights due to GPS issues and that Piastri was in his blind spot. Stewards issued Sainz a five-second penalty rather than the standard 10 seconds, citing limited visibility as a mitigating factor.
The blue flag malfunction affected multiple drivers, including Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, who described confusion from random signals without driver numbers. Norris claimed victory, marking McLaren's first win of 2026, while Piastri retired later with a gearbox failure.
