Ferrari has submitted a right to review to the FIA for Carlos Sainz’s five-second time penalty, which demoted the Spaniard from fourth to 12th at the end of the Australian Grand Prix. “We did the petition for review of the case, that we’re sending to the FIA,” Team Principal Frederic Vasseur confirmed to media, including RacingNews365.com . Under the FIA International Sporting Code, F1 teams have the right to review any penalty within 14 days after the race. During the review they must bring “a significant and relevant new element” that was “unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned.” Sainz was penalised after crashing into Fernando Alonso at Turn 1 during the second restart on Lap 57. It is expected Ferrari will argue that Sainz was given different treatment to Pierre Gasly, who escaped a penalty for his crash with Esteban Ocon during the second restart. Logan Sargeant was also not investigated for crashing into Nyck de Vries, likely owing to the convention that stewards take a lenient approach to first-lap incidents during restarts. “I don’t want to disclose any details of this discussion,” said Vasseur when asked what ‘significant and new elements’ they would bring. “The only thing is that Gasly and Ocon, we also had Sargeant and De Vries at Turn 1, and the reaction from the stewards was not the same [as Sainz].” In their official review document, the stewards believed there was enough of a gap for Sainz to avoid the collision with Alonso. It read: “Notwithstanding the fact that it was the equivalent of a first lap incident, we considered that there was sufficient gap for Car 55 to take steps to avoid the collision and failed to do so.” Sainz ‘devastated’ after the Australian GP Vasseur said Sainz was ‘devastated’ after the race over the penalty, as it meant he failed to score points in what has already been one of the worst starts to a season for the team. “After the race you have to understand that with the pressure, the emotion, they [drivers] are a bit extreme in terms of reaction. But I think he was devastated on Sunday,” said Vasseur. The Ferrari boss expects to have a productive discussion with the FIA about the application of the penalty, considering the confusion it created at the end of the race for fans. “What we can expect is at least to have an open discussion with them [FIA] and also for the good of the sport, to avoid to have this kind of decision when you have three cases at the same corner and this indecision.” Stewards will sometimes investigate incidents after a race to get the drivers viewpoint, which is what they did with Ocon and Gasly. Vasseur said that it was the ‘biggest frustration’ that Sainz did not get the chance to have his say on the incident. “The biggest frustration with Carlos, and you heard it on the radio, was to not have the hearings. Because the case was very special,” he said. “In this case I think it would’ve made sense, considering that the race was over and it was not affecting the podium, to have the hearings like Gasly and Ocon.”
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