The Melbourne incident
The chaotic race at the Albert Park circuit in Australia at the beginning of April saw Ferrari return home without even a single point. In fact, on the first lap of the Melbourne event, Charles Leclerc’s race ended in the escape route after a collision with the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, as the Monegasque driver attempted a risky overtaking move, while his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz was penalized by the Race Direction for the incident caused at the third start, slipping out of the final top 10.
A penalty of five seconds that had a devastating effect on the Spaniard’s ranking, plummeting from a potential third to twelfth place in the final standings due to the Australian Grand Prix ending behind the Safety Car.
Scuderia Ferrari exercised the right of review with the race stewards responsible for the case at the Albert Park circuit, claiming to have new elements not available at the time of judgment to reach a different assessment of the contact between Carlos Sainz and the Aston Martin car of Fernando Alonso. However, the Maranello team did was not successful as the FIA rejected its appeal and confirmed the penalty for the Spaniard, considering the dossier presented by the Prancing Horse not worthy of reopening the case.
Carlos Sainz – Fernando Alonso, clarification and no hard feelings
Carlos Sainz expressed his disappointment both after the race, stating that he felt “robbed”, but also after the confirmation of the penalty, when he pointed out he was “disappointed with the FIA” for a sanction that he described as being “disproportionate”. Many wondered if what had happened could ruin the relationship between the Ferrari driver and his compatriot Fernando Alonso.
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According to what Carlos Sainz recently explained to Antena 3, there was an exchange of messages between the two: “After the race, I was too angry to talk to him. For me, it was the most unfair penalty I’ve ever seen. I sent him a message to apologize. It was not an intentional incident. I complained about the penalty, but I am aware that I made a small mistake. I am still glad that Fernando did not suffer any consequences” – the Ferrari man admitted.

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