Fernando Alonso believes the FIA treated Carlos Sainz too harshly by imposing a penalty that dropped him out of the points in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.
In a chaotic race, what proved to be the second restart of the day turned out to be the most incident-strewn, sparked by Ferrari driver Sainz tagging fellow Spaniard Alonso in his Aston Martin through Turn 1.
Alpine duo Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon took each other out in a major crash emerging from the corner, whilst AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant in his Williams also ended up in the gravel and out of the race.
As the drivers waited in the pit lane for what would be the third restart, Sainz was handed a five-second time penalty for causing a collision, one he protested vehemently against over the team radio, knowing it would relegate him from his fourth place to out of the top 10.
Sainz pleaded for the opportunity to speak with the stewards post-race, but it was to no avail. Team principal Fred Vasseur also suggested his driver should have been afforded the opportunity to make a case for himself.
Reflecting on the incident, Alonso said: “Probably the penalty is too harsh.
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“On lap one, it is always very difficult to judge what the grip level is, and we don’t intentionally go into another car.
“We know that we also risk our car and our final position, so sometimes you end up in places you wish you were not there in that moment.
“It’s just part of racing, and for me, it feels too hard.”
Alonso has trust in FIA
Like many other drivers, Alonso was puzzled why there was a constant need for the red flags across the incidents when a safety car would likely have sufficed.
The two-time F1 champion, however, also recognises race control can see the bigger picture compared to a driver in the cockpit of his car.
“I was surprised with all the red flags, to be honest,” said Alonso on reflection.
“The first one was (because of) a Williams (Alex Albon) in Turn 6, but we went through there for one lap behind the safety car and there was a little bit of gravel, but nothing really too bad on track.
“But we never know in the car what’s going on on the track itself. Apparently, maybe one barrier was not properly fitted there, so I think the FIA has more information than us. If there is a red flag, it has to be for a reason.
“We will probably ask in Baku (Azerbaijan GP) what was the reason for the second (Kevin Magnussen crashing his Haas). I know there was a piece of tyre debris on the first straight but the car itself was on the inside of Turn 4 so it felt quite safe there.
“The safety car is for those kinds of reasons so for us, maybe it was a different opinion.
“But as I said, the FIA are the only ones that have all the cards on the table so in those kinds of situations, we trust them, and we try to keep them going.”
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