FIA Defends Carlos Sainz Time And Point Penalty At Australian GP After Fan Backlash

The FIA has formally clarified why Carlos Sainz was handed a five-second penalty and 2 penalty points for his collision with Fernando Alonso during the Australian Grand Prix.

The chaotic race was full of safety cars and red flags, and on the penultimate red flag restart Sainz collided with Alonso causing the two-time champion to go from third position to the back of the grid. However, this wasn't the only drama from the restart with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly crashing into each other forcing both Alpine's to retire, as well as Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant finishing their races.

So, another red flag was put on the race whilst the track was cleared and the stewards worked out how to restart. Luckily for Alonso, the race was to resume in the order from the previous restart so he was back up into third place. However, Sainz was still given the 5-second penalty causing confusion with the driver and his fans.

One fan wrote to Twitter:

"That lap didn’t even exist…they reset the order to discount it completely, and put Alonso back in P3, so how can they put a penalty for Carlos Sainz?"

That lap didn’t even exist…they reset the order to discount it completely, and put Alonso back in P3, so how can they put a penalty for Carlos Sainz?
— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) April 2, 2023

The FIA has now clarified their position in the matter, writing that:

"Car 55 was wholly to blame for the collision. Car 14 was significantly ahead at the first corner and nevertheless, Car 55 drove into Car 14."