Carlos Sainz was handed a five-second penalty for track violations during the Australian GP earlier this month
Former Indian F1 racer Karun Chandhok has shared his take on the penalty awarded to Carlos Sainz at the Australian GP earlier this month.
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, which was appealed by Ferrari and Sainz later on but to no avail.
Chandhok, who drove for teams like HRT and Lotus in F1, wrote on Twitter: “I do think that if races finish behind the safety car, the stewards should consider a 3 place grid drop at the following race instead of the 5 seconds being added. Would be a more proportionate penalty.”
There has been a lot of debate over FIA’s decision to not grant review rights to Ferrari and Sainz. The Spaniard expressed his disappointment on social but made it clear that it’s past now and he is looking forward to doing well at the next race in Azerbaijan.
Carlos Sainz “disappointed” by the FIA’s decision
Carlos Sainz took to social media to express his disappointment over FIA’s decision of not reviewing the penalty that was handed to him at the Australian GP. After the FIA officially stated its decision, the Spanish racer hit out at the apex body on social media and made his stance on the issue pretty clear. Sainz believes that the least the FIA could have done is to allow them a review and then take a final decision upon examining the evidence.
A disappointed Sainz wrote on social media: “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.
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