'It's not enough' - Schumacher fumes at Carlos Sainz penalty after Oscar Piastri clash

Ralf Schumacher has demanded that Carlos Sainz face further punishment for colliding with Oscar Piastri in Hungary after escaping with only a five-second penalty in Hungary.

Sainz was battling with Fernando Alonso when de facto race leader Piastri closed on the Williams driver to put a lap on him. At this point, the Australian had recently pitted and had closed the margin back to McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, meaning that he would in all likelihood resume the lead after the round of stops had been completed. 

But this margin was torn to shreds, as Sainz ignored eight blue flag signals, before clattering into Piastri after failing to spot the McLaren in his mirrors - this despite being warned that he was about to be lapped several corners earlier via team radio.

For his troubles, Sainz was handed a five-second penalty, which did little to affect his race. 

Speaking to Sky Deutschland, Schumacher said: “It’s something that makes you furious. None of them were competing for the points. Then the leader of the race comes, and Sainz drove into his car.

“An absolute no-go from my point of view. A normal punishment is not enough. For me, Carlos Sainz should be punished for the next race. In qualifying at Zandvoort, he has to get one, because otherwise, this will set a precedent; it must not happen at all.”

While it has been acknowledged that there were problems with the GPS system and Sainz complained about the blue flag signals not appearing on his steering wheel, Schumacher was having none of these excuses, pointing to systems like the radio, mirrors and flags - more commonly marker boards in modern F1 - that can be used instead of solely relying on the wheel. 

"Every driver knows what it’s all about,” he added.

“You have your engineer, you ask questions and also look in the mirror. If he tells me he can’t look in the mirror when he’s driving, then he’s overwhelmed and has to stop.

“But that’s really unsportsmanlike!”