Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has furiously reacted to the FIA’s decision to dismiss his appeal of the last lap five second penalty at the Australian Grand Prix that saw him go from P4 to P12.
Sainz was penalised for causing a collision with the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso following a chaotic red flag restart on Lap 57 of the race.
As the cars completed the race behind the Safety Car, while Sainz finished the race in P4, he was dropped to the last of the classified cars due to the five second penalty.
Time penalties cannot be appealed directly but Ferrari had requested a right of review, which the FIA rejected on Tuesday, as they claimed that no new evidence had been presented.
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Taking to Instagram, Sainz criticised the punishment and the failure to review the situation.
“Very disappointed that the FIA did not grant us a right to review,” Sainz wrote.
“Two weeks later, I still think the penalty is too disproportionate and I believe it should have at least been reviewed on the basis of the evidence and reasoning we presented.
“We have to continue working together to improve certain things for the future. The consistency and decision-making process has been a hot topic for many seasons now and we need to be clearer for the sake of our sport.
“What happened in Australia is now in the past and I am 100% focused on the next race in Baku.”
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Stripping Sainz of points marked the end of a painful weekend for Ferrari, as Charles Leclerc had suffered a DNF earlier in the race after he was send into the gravel trap on Lap One.
The second DNF for the Monegasque in three races means that Ferrari is almost 100 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Standings.
Red Bull leads the title race with 123 points, followed by Aston Martin on 65, Mercedes on 56 and Ferrari on 26.