Ferrari remain of the opinion that enough new evidence has been presented to have Carlos Sainz’s penalty overturned at the Australian Grand Prix. Nevertheless, they will work together with the FIA to further improve the control of Formula 1.
The FIA has dismissed Scuderia’s petition against Sainz’s five-second penalty imposed towards the end of the race in Melbourne for the Spaniard’s sweep of Fernando Alonso in the last restart.
Ferrari subsequently issued a statement saying they were confident they had provided enough new information but respected the FIA’s process and outcome.
Ferrari safe: Enough new evidence presented!
The team’s statement read: “We note the FIA’s decision not to grant us the right to review the penalty imposed on Carlos Sainz at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.”
“We are obviously disappointed and felt that we had provided enough new elements for the FIA to reconsider the decision, especially in the context of the particular conditions and the numerous incidents that occurred during the last restart. However, we respect the process and decision of the FIA.”
Ferrari continued: “We now look forward to engaging in further discussions with the FIA, Formula 1 and all teams, with the aim of further improving the policing of our sport to ensure the highest level of fairness and consistency that it is our sport deserves.”
Why the FIA rejected the petition
As the lap with the red flag was interrupted early and the race finally ended with a procession behind the safety car, the penalty dropped Sainz from fourth place at the finish to a pointless twelfth place.
Ferrari applied for a retrial on the grounds that the decision was made during the race rather than giving the driver an opportunity to defend himself with the stewards.
It also argued that after an incident between Sergio Pérez and Williams driver Felipa Massa in Canada in 2014, Force India was able to produce retrospective driver testimony and new telemetry data, giving a precedent to overturn such a penalty.
Sainz’s late braking point before the turn one collision was submitted to the FIA and the driver argued that excessively cool tire temperatures due to a slow formation lap and the low sun affecting visibility contributed to the accident.
However, the FIA dismissed the case, arguing that this did not provide the requested “significant and relevant new information which was not available to the parties requesting the review at the time of the relevant decision”, and also arguing that that all riders faced the same conditions as Sainz.
