Formula 1

Unjust Penalty! – Drops Sainz from Fourth to 12th in Australian Grand Prix

Published

2 months ago

02/04/2023

Unjust Penalty Drops Sainz from Fourth to 12th in Australian Grand Prix

Unjust penalty ruins Carlos Sainz’s chances in Australian Grand Prix as Ferrari leave with zero points.

Carlos Sainz, the Formula 1 driver for Ferrari, believes that the penalty imposed on him during the Australian Grand Prix was extremely unjust.

The penalty caused him to drop from fourth to 12th position in the race. Sainz received the penalty for his involvement in the confusion during the red flag restart towards the end of the race. He made contact with the right rear of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin as they exited Turn 1, resulting in the penalty.

The incident leading to Sainz’s penalty occurred when Lewis Hamilton squeezed Fernando Alonso to the left on the approach to the final corner. Meanwhile, Sainz had successfully defended his position against Pierre Gasly while braking, but ultimately collided with Alonso’s Aston Martin, causing it to spin and make slight contact with the barriers.

The race was red-flagged due to additional incidents that occurred, before the leader Max Verstappen could even complete a single sector. As a result, the race order was effectively restored to what it was before the restart, nullifying the damage to Alonso’s race caused by the incident with Sainz.

Prior to the final restart, which took place with the race effectively neutralized until the chequered flag, Sainz was given a swift five-second penalty. Unfortunately, given the circumstances of the race, this penalty proved disastrous for Sainz, as he was forced to finish in 12th place and was the last of the drivers to take the chequered flag.

Carlos Sainz had predicted the outcome and expressed his disappointment to his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, upon being informed of the penalty. He reacted with disbelief and said, “No! It cannot be, Ricky.” He further added, “Do I deserve to be out of the points? No. No! It’s unacceptable. Tell them. It’s unacceptable. They need to wait until the race is finished and discuss with me.”

Sainz persisted in his plea, repeatedly saying, “Please. Please-please-please-please.” He requested that the officials wait until the race was finished and discussed the penalty with him, as he believed it was too severe and not deserved. In a post-race interview with print media, Sainz expressed his frustration, saying, “I think it’s the most unfair penalty I’ve seen in my life. So before talking to you, I’m saying really bad stuff and bad words.”

Sainz mentioned that he would prefer to go back to the stewards, have a conversation with them, and possibly return to talk to the media as he did not feel well enough to speak. He also gave a similar interview to F1 TV, stating that he was “too angry, too disappointed” to speak and made a quick exit with the aim of getting the penalty overturned.

Sainz also mentioned that he had come to the TV pen because he didn’t want to receive another penalty. He apologized and said that he preferred not to talk, and would return later after speaking to the stewards. Unfortunately, Sainz’s penalty resulted in Ferrari leaving Melbourne with zero points, as his teammate Charles Leclerc was also unable to finish the race, having collided with Lance Stroll on the opening lap.

Unjust Penalty ruins Sainz from Fourth to 12th in Australian GP f1 2023 Unjust Penalty ruins Sainz from Fourth to 12th in Australian GP f1 2023 Unjust Penalty ruins Sainz from Fourth to 12th in Australian GP f1 2023