Jean Alesi, who raced for Ferrari between 1991 and 1995, has sided with the FIA after Carlos Sainz was penalised in the closing stages of the Australian Grand Prix.
As Sainz ran into the first corner on the lap 57 restart, he went deep and collided with his fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso, sending the two-time world champion spinning into the gravel.
The stewards swiftly decided to punish Sainz for causing a collision, hitting him with a five second penalty that dropped the Spaniard from fourth to 12th place.
“No, it cannot be. Do I deserve to be out of the points? No,” Sainz said over the radio after learning of the penalty.
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“It’s unacceptable. Tell them, it’s unacceptable. They need to wait until the race is finished and discuss it with me.
“Please. Ask them please, please, please, please to wait and discuss it with me.
“Clearly, the penalty is too severe,” he added.
Alesi believes that the penalty was actually justified despite the Spaniard’s protestation, writing in his column for Corriere della Sera that Sainz was responsible for the crash that nearly cost Alonso a P3 finish.
“The Australian GP has sparked much controversy over the behaviour of the race directors. I understand the impression of having seen a chaotic race but I don’t share the complaints. In my opinion, the race director applied the rules perfectly,” Alesi said.
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“I think the penalty given to Sainz is also understandable. As happens in football or other sports, a penalty can come even at the end of the match for misconduct. And, honestly, it was Sainz who made a mistake shortly after the third restart,” he added.
With Sainz kicked out of the points due to the penalty, Ferrari left Australia with zero points after Charles Leclerc crashed out of the race in lap one.
Leclerc collided with Lance Stroll on the first lap, ending his weekend early, as the Ferrari got beached in the gravel trap.