A failed mission
For Scuderia Ferrari, the hope of overturning the final standings of the 2023 Australian Grand Prix has definitely disappeared. The race at the Albert Park circuit was marked by three red flags and, above all, by the penalty inflicted on Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard, shortly after the second restart, had in fact rear-ended his compatriot Fernando Alonso at the first corner of the Melbourne circuit: this collision, as well as other incidents that occurred nearby had prompted Race Direction to display the red flag again.
The penalty
All of this occurred on the penultimate lap of the Australian Grand Prix, at a time when Carlos Sainz was in fourth position. The race stewards, however, then communicated two decisions that proved to be controversial: the first was the one linked to the last lap remaining behind the Safety Car, while the other, welcomed with obvious disappointment by Ferrari, was the 5-second penalty imposed on Carlos Sainz for the contact with the Aston Martin driver.
Appeal rejected
In this way, with the GP restarting behind the safety car and with the cars regrouped, the number 55 slipped from fourth to twelfth final position, thus finishing outside the points zone. Ever since that afternoon, Ferrari had manifested its clear intention to appeal by presenting concrete elements to the FIA in order to re-establish a new final classification, which actually happened.
However, today, the International Federation assessed the evidence provided by Ferrari as ‘not relevant’, and therefore the order of arrival of the Australian GP remained unchanged, with Carlos Sainz finishing 12th and no points for the Maranello team.
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Ferrari press release
In the minutes following the ruling, Ferrari issued the following statement: “We acknowledge the FIA’s decision not to grant us a right of review in relation to the penalty imposed on Carlos Sainz at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. We are naturally disappointed and felt we had provided new, significant and sufficient elements for the FIA to review the decision, especially in the context of regular conditions and the multiple accidents that occurred during the final restart. However, we are respectful of the process and the decision of the FIA. We are now keen to engage in a wider discussion with the FIA, F1 and all teams, with the aim of further improving our sport’s policy to ensure the highest level of fairness and consistency that our sport deserves.”
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