In the early hours of 26 September, China Standard Time (UTC+8), the FIA published the provisional grid following qualifying for the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Williams driver Carlos Sainz received a 5-place grid penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags, dropping from ninth in qualifying to 14th. Cadillac’s Sergio Perez received a 3-place penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri, but remained 20th on the provisional grid. The two decisions addressed different driving offences, and the number of penalty places does not directly equal the eventual movement in the combined grid order.
Sainz: successive yellow-flag sectors each require a slowdown
FIA Decision No. 49 stated that marshal sectors four and five, two consecutive sectors between the exit of Turn 2 and Turn 3, both displayed single yellow flags. The team warned Sainz by radio to slow down, and he acknowledged knowing about the flags. Sainz explained that he had intended to make one overall reduction in speed across the entire yellow-flag area. The stewards considered that each sector displaying yellow flags required its own clear reduction in speed; lifting in the later sector could not make up for failing to do so in the preceding one.
After examining the car’s speed data, the stewards found that Sainz had slowed effectively only in marshal sector five, without a clear speed reduction consistent with the yellow flag in sector four. The decision also stated that the obligation to slow did not depend on the driver’s own assessment of whether the original danger remained. He received a 5-place penalty and 2 super licence penalty points, bringing his total over the past 12 months to 4. The provisional grid moved Franco Colapinto, Oliver Bearman, Liam Lawson, Alexander Albon and Esteban Ocon up from their positions behind him.
Perez: forcing the following car to lift constituted unnecessary impeding
Decision No. 48 concerned a separate incident between Turns 18 and 20. Perez was travelling slowly and warming his tyres ahead of a timed lap, while Piastri was on a flying lap. The document recorded the leading car at approximately 248 km/h and the following car at around 300 km/h at the relevant point. The team had twice warned Perez of the approaching car. Traffic-management instructions for that section required drivers on preparation laps to stay to the right, but his tyre-warming manoeuvre took him into Piastri’s path, forcing the McLaren driver to lift and change direction.
Piastri confirmed to the stewards that he had lifted because of Perez, while also considering that he had ultimately lost no significant lap time. The stewards found that the incident did not amount to dangerous driving, but that forcing the following car to lift was sufficient evidence of unnecessary impeding. Perez therefore received the standard 3-place grid penalty for impeding in qualifying. His qualifying classification remained 20th, with the penalty applied to the race grid.
Provisional grid: penalties for other drivers also apply
FIA Document No. 52, the provisional grid, also listed penalties of 30 and 20 places for Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll respectively for exceeding their power-unit component allocations. They were placed 21st and 22nd. The document listed Sainz 14th, Perez 20th and Valtteri Bottas 19th. It represented the full order after the penalties had been processed together and retained provisional status.
| Grid position | Car No. | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren |
| 4 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing |
| 5 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari |
| 7 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine |
| 8 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing |
| 9 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine |
| 10 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas |
| 11 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls |
| 12 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas |
| 14 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams |
| 15 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls |
| 16 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes |
| 17 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi |
| 18 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi |
| 19 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac |
| 20 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac |
| 21 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin |
| 22 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
Grid source: FIA Document No. 52, Provisional Starting Grid.
INKA SPORTS analysis: judging responsibility for yellow-flag responses and preparation-lap positioning
The key to both cases was when and where the driver responded. Yellow flags covered two successive sectors; Sainz slowed in the later one, leaving the failure to respond promptly in the first unresolved. In Perez’s case, the following car was around 52 km/h faster. A predictable line on the right would have allowed the car on a timed lap to pass, but his tyre-warming manoeuvre forced Piastri to lift and take avoiding action. Even without a significant final lap-time loss, that avoidance was sufficient to support a finding of unnecessary impeding. The cases illustrate the importance of responding to yellow flags in each sector and managing the line on a preparation lap in advance.
Summary
These two post-qualifying decisions changed the race starting arrangements. Sainz’s penalty moved him from ninth to a provisional 14th, advancing five drivers. Although Perez received a 3-place penalty, he remained 20th in the provisional order after multiple penalties had been processed. Understanding the cases requires separating the offence, the sanction and the grid order. The decisions explain the first two; the complete provisional grid shows the actual starting positions.
