The Ferrari driver goes from fourth to twelfth after his penalty for touching his compatriot at the start of the Australian Grand Prix.
By the paddock of the Albert Park circuit, a man, Carlos SainzHe tries to control himself, to breathe, even to shut up. It has one objective: the hall of the commissioners of the International Automobile Federation (FIA). And he has a purpose: that they take away the sanction that they have imposed on him. But before arguing with them, he must comply with multiple obligations and one of them is to attend to the television stations with rights in the mixed zone. From the start on DAZN, in Spanish, he moderates: “I prefer not to speak before going to see the commissioners.” But in English later he raises his tone. “It is the most unfair penalty I have ever experienced,” he first told Sky Sports. “It’s the biggest shame I’ve seen in recent years,” he later blurts out on Viaplay. In the end, with anger boiling in his blood, the Ferrari driver leaves to speak to the referees who, having seen the subsequent statement, do not listen to his reasons.
“On the first lap of a restart, the marshals are normally more permissive, but the car 55 [Sainz] I had enough space to avoid contact,” the FIA ruled, thus leaving Sainz out of the points. From fourth to twelfth place, a severe, very severe penalty. Why? What happened?
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Alonso entrenches himself on the podium amid historic chaos in Australia
Alonso entrenches himself on the podium amid historic chaos in Australia
The first episode of the confrontation between Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso. Godfather Alonso de Sainz since he was a child, both very close, travel companions, hotels and even vacations, in Bahrain it has already been proven that this season will put their relationship to the test and this Sunday in Australia it was confirmed. After a chaotic race in the first laps and calm in the hour after, the two Spaniards found themselves side by side. With only two laps to go, a red flag. With only two laps to go, a restart. With max verstappen and lewis hamilton ahead, Alonso was in third place on the grid and Carlos Sainz in fourth, practically parallel. With so much tension, surviving the first corner would be a feat. With cold tires, the chain of accidents was assured. Alonso made a fast start, positioned himself on the outside to pass Hamilton and Sainz, also fast, on the inside, took him ahead.
“No, they can’t do that”
Luckily there were no more. Alonso’s car, stranded in the middle of the track, did not hit the walls or another car. And Sainz was able to continue his march in third place. What’s more, as chaos broke out around both and the Alpine drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, crashed into the wall, the FIA stewards decided to cancel everything that had happened and return Alonso to third place and Sainz to fourth. All happy. Alonso celebrated his third consecutive podium of the season, the one that keeps him third in the World Cup, one step behind the Red Bull, and Sainz increased his advantage as the best Ferrari after the withdrawal of charles leclerc. But suddenly the radio message came. “Carlos, they are going to penalize you with five seconds,” they warned from the red garage. “No, no, they can’t do that. It’s too hard a punishment,” said Sainz. Despite his lamentations and the subsequent meeting, there was nothing to be done.
“The penalty is tough, because when your wheels are cold you won’t crash into anyone,” Alonso analyzed, in the mixed zone, exonerating his friend, although minutes before he had a tense conversation with Ricardo Adami, Sainz’s track engineer. In reality, the Aston Martin driver -like Verstappen and Hamilton- was angry with Race Direction for having shown that red flag and having created a race of only two laps in which incidents were guaranteed.
“That red flag was not necessary. Everything could have been resolved with a ‘safety’. If you bring out a red flag for safety reasons and then do a two-lap restart, you create more danger, because something is going to happen yes or yes “, valued the Spaniard, happy with his third place despite the incident with Sainz. The confrontation between the two has begun and their relationship is threatened.
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