Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has slammed the FIA race stewards, reacting to a five-second penalty in the chaotic Australian GP. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finally broke his jinx at Albert Park as he clinched the number-one spot ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.
The fourth place on the grid could have been Sainz’s before the Spaniard was sanctioned for his involvement in the effectively voided late-race red flag restart. But with this penalty, Sainz went down to 12th place.
The Prancing Horse driver tagged the right rear of Fernando Alonso coming out of Turn 1 at Lap 56. Just before the Alonso-Sainz incident, another massive crash took place Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who was also fending away Sainz, hit the barrier and further collided with his teammate Esteban Ocon.
The Spaniard had anticipated this outcome while driving and expressed his disagreement with the decision on the team radio. Sainz was heard saying, “No! It cannot be, Ricky,” he told race engineer Riccardo Adami after being told of the sanction.“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.” When he was further asked to comply, Sainz urged and stated that he didn’t deserve the outcome “No! Please. Please-please-please-please. [Ask them] to wait and discuss with me. Clearly, the penalty is not deserved, it is too severe.”
Later while talking to the press, a disgruntled Carlos Sainz described the decision as the ‘most unfair penalty’ and expressed that he will confront the drivers regarding the issue. “Right now I cannot talk I’m too angry, too disappointed,” said the Ferrari driver.
“I just cannot say anything, I prefer to go to stewards, and get the penalty away because I don’t think I deserve it and is the most unfair penalty I’ve seen in my life. So I will go first to stewards. I just need to come to the TV pen because if I don’t come, they put me another penalty.