Stewards reject Ferrari’s Australian GP appeal

Ferrari has failed in its attempt to appeal against Carlos Sainz’s penalty at the Australian Grand Prix. Sainz had been dropped from fourth place to 12th after receiving a five-second penalty for colliding with Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin.

The team had petitioned for a right of review of the penalty, which was dismissed by the race stewards on Tuesday. They stated that no significant and relevant new element had been presented by Ferrari.

Ferrari had presented three new pieces of information which they claimed had not been considered by the stewards when the penalty was imposed. These were telemetry data from Sainz’s car, Sainz’s witness statement, and other drivers’ statements from post-race interviews.

The stewards, however, rejected all of Ferrari’s arguments, saying they had already reviewed the telemetry data and that they did not need to speak to Sainz to determine that he was at fault for the collision. The other drivers’ comments were also considered to be “not significant or relevant”.

Ferrari also cited an incident that happened at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2014, where the Force India team was allowed a review because their driver, Sergio Perez, had not been spoken to by the stewards before a decision was made. However, the stewards rejected Ferrari’s argument, stating that the incident in question was quite different.

The decision means that Sainz remains in fifth place in the drivers’ championship, 18 points behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari is also in fourth place in the constructors’ championship, 30 points behind Mercedes.

“We are naturally disappointed and felt that we had provided sufficient significant new elements for the FIA to re-examine the decision, especially in the context of the particular conditions and multiple incidents that occurred during the final restart,” Ferrari said in a statement.

The Australian Grand Prix featured a number of stoppages and incidents, which resulted in a compressed field and made it difficult for drivers to maintain their positions. Despite the setback, Ferrari and Sainz remain determined to compete at the highest level and achieve success in the upcoming races.

Leon Osamor