close global

Welcome to GPFans

CHOOSE YOUR COUNTRY

  • NL
  • GB
  • IT
  • ES-MX
  • US
  • GB
Ferrari challenges Carlos Sainz's Australian GP penalty

Ferrari challenges Carlos Sainz's Australian GP penalty

Ferrari challenges Carlos Sainz's Australian GP penalty

Ferrari challenges Carlos Sainz's Australian GP penalty

Ferrari has requested a right of review after Carlos Sainz was hit with a penalty during the dramatic final stages of the Australian Grand Prix.

Sainz was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin, the two drivers having made contact at the incident-filled standing restart after the race's second red flag.

The punishment had been awarded ahead of the resumption of the final lap behind the safety car, leading Sainz to vent his frustration with the decision over team radio and call for the opportunity to explain the incident to the stewards.

The cars were placed back in the previous grid order for the final restart and with Sainz in fourth, although he dropped to 12th in the final standings after the penalty came into effect.

Shortly after Sainz's collision, Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon struck each other and Williams' Logan Sergeant rear-ended Nyck de Vries.

Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz on track at the Australian Grand Prix

"As we are discussing with the FIA, and we sent the report to the FIA, I don't want to disclose any details of this discussion," Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said.

"The only thing is that about Gasly [and] Ocon, and for sure we had Sargeant [and] De Vries at Turn 1, and the reaction of the stewards was not the same. But I want to avoid making any comment."

The stewards will first have to decide whether they will answer Ferrari's case in light of a "significant and relevant new element" and then make a decision based on the new evidence in the event they opted to proceed.

Vasseur: 'The case was very special'

Fred Vasseur on the pit wall

"The process is that first they will have a look on our petition to see if they can re-open the case," Vasseur added. "Then we'll have a second hearing a bit later, with the same stewards or the stewards of the next meeting, about the decision itself.

"What we can expect is at least to have an open discussion with them, and also for the good of the sport to avoid this kind of decision when you have three cases on the same corner, and not the same decision.

"The biggest frustration was from Carlos, and you heard it on the radio, to not have a hearing.

"Because the case was very special, and in this case, I think it would have made sense considering that it was the race was over, it was not affecting the podium, to have a hearing, as Gasly and Ocon had."

READ MORE: Former president laments Ferrari nightmare: 'This is not a short-term crisis

Related

F1 Saudi GP: FIA steward mistake leads to Carlos Sainz penalty howler
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

F1 Saudi GP: FIA steward mistake leads to Carlos Sainz penalty howler

  • April 17, 2025 17:57
Carlos Sainz SWEARS at Bahrain GP following FIA punishment
Latest F1 News

Carlos Sainz SWEARS at Bahrain GP following FIA punishment

  • April 11, 2025 10:59
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Ontdek het op Google Play