Carlos Sainz has been issued an incredibly rare penalty after the British Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz did not have a fantastic day behind the wheel of the Williams at the British Grand Prix, as he finished 12th; however, his day got worse after the race as the FIA handed him an incredibly rare penalty, which saw him drop to 17th.

The former Ferrari driver had to watch his ex-teammate Charles Leclerc stand upon the top step of the podium following his victory at Silverstone while the driver who replaced him at the Italian constructors, Lewis Hamilton, finished third.

George Russell was the other driver who stood on the podium as the Mercedes driver finished second, helping his world championship ambitions, as his title rival Kimi Antonelli finished 15th.

It was a disappointing end to what had been an exciting race, as the British Grand Prix ended under safety car conditions; however, there was confusion around the last lap as it had been believed that there may have been a last-lap shootout to see who would win the race when the safety car looked set to return to the pits, especially as lapped cars overtook the safety car as the ‘Safety Car In This Lap’ message was displayed; however, it stayed out.

FIA

The ‘Safety Car In This Lap’ message was later described as a software error by the FIA.

Yet, following all this confusion, it has been revealed Sainz was found to have overtaken the safety car without permission and so has been handed a one-lap penalty.

A statement from the FIA stewards said: “The stewards heard from the team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, and in-car video evidence.

“Although Car 55 was lapped at Safety Car Line 1 when entering the pit lane, due to the specific track and pit lane configuration at Silverstone, it had temporarily unlapped itself by the time it crossed the line at the end of the lap during which it crossed Safety Car Line 1 for the second time after the Safety Car was deployed.

“Consequently, Car 55 was not a lapped car for the purposes of Article B5.13.4 c) and was therefore not entitled to overtake the Safety Car when the “LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE” message was displayed.

“However, Car 55 unlapped itself once the message was displayed by Race Control.

Ferrari's Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc (R), Mercedes' British driver George Russell (2R) and Ferrari's British driver Lewis Hamilton (L) tucked in behind the safety car (2L) (Getty Images)

“The stewards noted that, after completing its pit stop, Car 55 once again was a lapped car when it re-joined the track. Given the exceptional track layout at this event, the stewards understand how the sequence of events may have contributed to the team’s confusion.

“The team representative acknowledged that the team nevertheless made two errors: firstly, by failing to recognise that Car 55 was not a lapped car at the relevant reference point under “Article B5.13.4 c), and secondly, by failing to note that Car 55 was not included in the Race Control message identifying the cars permitted to overtake the Safety Car.

“The team representative accepted that they inadvertently gained a lap when they were not entitled to do so.

“In determining the appropriate penalty, the stewards considered Article 12.4.1.i of the FIA International Sporting Code. The stewards are satisfied that the penalty lap is one of the penalties available to them under the FIA International Sporting Code and considered it to be the most appropriate penalty in the circumstances of this case.”