Dueling at the tight, twisty start to the final sector, the Spaniard risked moving around the inside of Turn 15, but clipped the Silver Arrow’s left rear tire and sent it spinning.
Sainz was out in an instant, with damage to his right front tyre, and parked his Williams car between the track’s final two corners, while Antonelli continued to finish outside the top ten.
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Upon reviewing the incident, the stewards ruled that Sainz was responsible for the crash: “Car 55 attempted to overtake car 12 on the inside at turn 15 and a collision occurred between the two cars at the apex.
“The driver of Car 55 maintained that he expected the driver of Car 12 to give him room at the apex, but Car 12 turned early and Car 55 braked when it became clear that a collision was inevitable.
“At no time prior to the apex was Car 55’s front axle next to or in front of Car 12’s mirror. Therefore, in accordance with the Driving Standards Guidelines, Car 55 had not earned the right to be given clearance at the apex.”
As a result, and not being able to serve the sanction during the race, Sainz (‘Car 12’) received a five-place penalty on the starting grid for this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix, the scene of his last victory in F1, which he achieved in 2024.
Carlos Sainz is OUT after contacting Kimi Antonelli! 💥
This is what happened… 👇#F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/OIIUH031CO
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 19, 2025
For the Spaniard, it wasn’t a disastrous weekend as he finished third during Saturday’s sprint and once again demonstrated his underlying pace. But in battling with a Mercedes so early in the race, for seventh place, the resulting retirement represents another missed opportunity that has dominated much of their 2025 campaign.
Of his crash, Sainz told williamsf1.com: “It’s a shame to end the race that way as the car had great pace today. I had made a similar move with Bearman a few laps earlier, so I tried that inside line with Antonelli at Turn 15.
“He opened the line and then closed the door more abruptly than I expected. I tried to react by braking sharply to avoid contact, but it was too late and we touched each other.
“I was behind so I accept my share of the blame and ultimately it’s a shame as it cost us both the race. We were quick so it hurts not to convert that into more points.”