FIA dismisses Ferrari’s review appeal over Carlos Sainz’s Australian GP penalty

The FIA did not find any substantial evidence to overturn Carlos Sainz's penalty.

FIA dismisses Ferrari’s review appeal over Carlos Sainz’s Australian GP penalty

Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz was left furious at the end of the Australian GP as the Spanish driver was given a five-second time penalty at the end stages of the race. This forced Sainz down from P3 to a disappointing P12 as the race concluded behind the Safety Car. Subsequently, Ferrari lodged an appeal for the right to review to redress this decision. However, the FIA has dismissed this review.

A hearing was held on Tuesday morning to review the decision made by race control over Carlos Sainz’s incident. The sports governing body decided not to reconsider the penalty as the review lacked new or relevant evidence. The FIA stated, “There is no significant and relevant new element which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned. The Petition is therefore dismissed.”

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The governing body explained the reason behind this judgment. The FIA acknowledged the situation for this decision. As Carlos Sainz’s incident with Fernando Alonso occurred on Turn 1 of a restart. The FIA explained, “We considered the fact that this collision took place at the first corner on the first lap of the restart. When, by convention, the Stewards would typically take a more lenient view of incidents.”

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FIA found it “unnecessary” to hear from Carlos Sainz

The collision between Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz at the Australian GP
The collision between Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz at the Australian GP

The Mohammed Ben Sulayem-led governing body claimed that Carlos Sainz had enough room to avoid the collision with his fellow countryman. This was cited as the reason by the FIA for not reverting the decision. The FIA stated, “However, we decided that notwithstanding that it was the equivalent of a first lap incident. We considered that there was sufficient gap for SAI to take steps to avoid the collision. And failed to do so. We therefore imposed a 5-second time penalty.”

Ferrari had urged the FIA to consider witness testimonies from Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso as it had taken driver testimony as evidence during a previous review lodged by former F1 team Force India. However, the FIA clarified that it didn’t need to hear explanations from Carlos Sainz or any other driver over this decision. As it was made during the race. FIA said that it was “unnecessary for us to hear from SAI or hear from any other driver to decide that he was wholly to blame for the collision.”

Thus, the FIA has closed the door for Carlos Sainz’s potential podium finish. Ferrari failed to provide any new or substantial evidence that could have urged the sports governing body to reconsider its decision. Subsequently, Sainz and his team will be left disappointed as it lost out on its first podium finish of the season so far.

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