Sergio Perez is at risk of losing three points in the Drivers’ Championship, with the FIA set to review whether Carlos Sainz should be reinstated to fourth at the Australian Grand Prix.
Ferrari have decided to appeal the result of the recent race at the Albert Park Circuit, with Sainz having finished 12th instead of fourth.
The Spaniard crossed the line in fourth but finished 12th due to a five-second time penalty, which he was awarded for hitting Fernando Alonso at the late restart.
Sainz hit Alonso at the opening corner on the penultimate lap, before a third red flag of the race was flown seconds after the incident.
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Despite the order having been reversed to what it was before the final red flag, Sainz was still given a penalty, with him weirdly having been the only driver penalised from the restart.
Pierre Gasly and Logan Sargeant both avoided penalties despite having also caused crashes at the restart, suggesting that Ferrari certainly have a case they can appeal.
Should he be reinstated to fourth, then Lance Stroll will be pushed back to fifth and Perez will be pushed back to sixth, meaning his tally in the championship will be reduced by two points.
Whilst this isn’t much, it would mean that Max Verstappen’s lead in the championship would extend to 17 points, giving him some extra breathing room.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur recently confirmed that Ferrari would be appealing the result and how the process will look.
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“The process is first they will have a look on the petition to see if they can reopen the case and then we will have a second hearing a bit later about the decision itself,” Vasseur said in a press conference, as per BBC Sport.
“What we can expect is to at least have an open discussions with them and for the good of the sport to avoid to have this kind of decision where you have three cases on the same corner and not the same decision.
“The biggest frustration was from Carlos – and you heard it on the radio – was to not have the hearings, because the case was very special and in this case it would have made sense because the race was over and it was not affecting the podium.”