During the caution period to remove Valtteri Bottas's stricken Sauber, Sargeant was running down the start-finish straight towards Turn 1 as his Haas rival emerged from the pits following a change of tyres.
But while Hulkenberg reached the critical safety car line that determines the running order a split second in front, Sargeant’s speed offset and momentum left him thinking he had got there first so he slotted in ahead.
Then, with no feedback from his pit wall or the FIA over needing to give the position back, Sargeant was handed a 10-second penalty after the racing resumed for what was ruled an illegal overtake.
Asked how hard the situation had been to read as he charged down to the first corner, Sargeant said: “There's a bit of elevation there as well and I guess it just makes things hard to see when cars are split by quite a big distance.
“To my side, I thought I was way ahead. I didn't think it was even close so, to me, it was no discussion. So, to hear about that at the end of the race was a bit strange. I don't know if there's any way the FIA could maybe give us some feedback.
“We were under safety car for ages, I don't know why they didn't just tell me to give the position back. Obviously, I would've done so, had they said, but to my knowledge, I thought I was way ahead.”
Source: Autosport