Carlos Sainz was given a 5-second time penalty for his collision with Fernando Alonso on lap 57 of the 2023 Australian GP. The incident occurred at turn 1 after the Ferrari driver turned in on a fellow Spaniard.
Alonso and Sainz were 3rd and 4th, but the incident put the 2x champion dead last. However, the lap was voided and the grid order was reset. This allowed Alonso to reclaim his podium position.
Due to his involvement in the collision, Sainz was handed a 5-second time penalty. The Spaniard finished the race 4th but was moved to 12th after the time was added.
The Maranello-based outfit decided to challenge the steward’s decision. Nevertheless, the FIA decide to keep the penalty imposed on the Spaniard after the team fail to gather enough evidence.
Ferrari lacks evidence as FIA Carlos Sainz
Ferrari raised a petition against the steward’s decision to penalize Sainz for the collision on lap 57. The team had a virtual hearing with the FIA on Tuesday morning.
Each team is required to submit relevant pieces of evidence to prove their point. The Italian team submitted Sainz’s telemetry data, the driver’s statements regarding the incident, and statements from other drivers after the race.
The FIA reviewed Sainz’s telemetry data and deemed it nothing new. Sainz stated that his vision was compromised due to the sun. He also cited a lack of grip which Fernando Alonso too claimed to be a probable cause in his post-race interview.
However, the FIA decided to uphold its original decision. The stewards claimed every driver on the grid would have been equally impacted by the sun or lack of grip. Therefore Sainz’s telemetry data and his statements were considered unjustifiable.
They summarised the hearing stating, “no significant and relevant new element which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned.” The team’s right to review the decision was hence dismissed.
F1 Twitter Reacts to FIA’s Decision
Ferrari issued a statement following the FIA’s decision to retain the original result of the Australian GP. The team respects the authority’s decision and will cooperate with the body on further policing the sport.
However, the Tifosi were unimpressed with the team’s decision to challenge the FIA. Some Ferrari fans claim the team stood no ground and wasted time and resources fighting a lost cause.
With Charles Leclerc retiring early due to a spin, the team scored 0 points in the race. The ruling also confirms the worst start to an F1 season by the Scuderia since 2009. The team has only scored 26 points so far and is 4th in the constructor’s championship.
