Image Credits - Autosport
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished in 12th place at the Australian Grand Prix earlier this month – he recently hit out at the FIA.
Carlos Sainz took to social media to express his disappointment over FIA’s decision of not to review the penalty that was handed to him at the Australian GP.
The race at Albert Park was not short of drama with three red flags, 8 DNFs and a finish under the safety car leaving enough room for controversy and debate about how things could have been handled better. Amidst all the chaos, Sainz was handed a five-second penalty for driving Fernando Alonso off the track.
A disappointed Sainz wrote on Instagram: “I’m very disappointed that the FIA did not grant us a right to review. 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 have presented.”
He further added: “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.”
The Spaniard ended on a positive note though and made it clear that he is now completely focused on doing well in the upcoming race in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Sainz has been Ferrari’s only ray of hope so far this season. He is currently placed 5th in the F1 World Championship Leaderboard with 20 points, five spots above his team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Meanwhile, Red Bull are dominating the drivers’ championship standings after a fantastic start to the season with 1-2 finishes in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia followed by another top-of-the-podium finish in Australia.
Max Verstappen leads the standings with 69 points followed by his team-mate Sergio Perez, who occupies the second spot with 54 points while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso lies in the third spot with 45 points.
The picture is no different in the constructors’ championship, where reigning champions Red Bull lead the table with 123 points.
Aston Martin is significantly behind in second place, having earned 65 points from three races so far. Mercedes are placed third in the leaderboard with 56 points in their kitty. Sainz’s Ferrari are placed fourth with 26 points.
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