Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso will both start Saturday’s Sprint race from the pit lane at the 2026 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix after their respective teams were found to have changed suspension setups while under parc fermé, without the approval of the Technical Delegate.
According to the official stewards’ documents issued on August 22, both Williams and Aston Martin made unauthorized changes to their cars’ suspension ahead of the Sprint. The incidents were discovered following a report from the Technical Delegate, and both cases were handled simultaneously, with identical decisions handed down to each team within minutes of each other.
What Did Williams and Aston Martin Do?
In both cases, the teams changed the setup of the suspension of their respective cars while under parc fermé before the start of the Sprint, without seeking or receiving the approval of the Technical Delegate. This constitutes a breach of Articles B3.5.3 and B3.5.4 of the FIA F1 Regulations.
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Under parc fermé conditions, teams are severely restricted in what they can change on their cars. Any setup modifications that fall outside the permitted parameters must be approved by the Technical Delegate in advance. By making the changes without that approval, both Williams and Aston Martin left the stewards with little choice but to apply the mandatory sanction: a pit lane start for the Sprint race.
What It Means for Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso
For Sainz, the punishment is a significant blow at a circuit where Williams had shown some promising signs in practice. Starting from the pit lane in a Sprint race, which runs for just 24 laps or 60 minutes, leaves virtually no margin to recover lost positions, particularly at Zandvoort’s notoriously narrow and difficult-to-pass layout.
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Alonso faces the same uphill battle. The double world champion has been in improved form since Aston Martin’s major upgrade package at Hungary, and had been hoping to carry that momentum through the Dutch GP weekend. A pit lane start for the Sprint will not derail the main race, as the Sprint result does not affect the Sunday grid, but it does cost the team valuable points at a stage of the season where every point counts, especially after multiple DNFs at the start of the season.
With the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint taking place later today, both Sainz and Alonso will be hoping to minimize the damage and recover as many positions as possible before Sunday’s main event.