FIA rejects Ferrari appeal against Sainz penalty

PARIS (AP) — The FIA has rejected an attempt by Ferrari to overturn a penalty which cost Carlos Sainz Jr. fourth place at the Australian Grand Prix.

Sainz was given a five-second penalty for crashing into Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso after a restart. The race finished on a safety car lap, so the time penalty pushed Sainz down to last of the 12 finishers and he scored no points.

The stewards' ruling on Tuesday shows Ferrari presented telemetry from Sainz's car, a statement from the Spanish driver and comments from other drivers in interviews to make an argument that Sainz had low grip on cold tires with the sun in his eyes, and couldn't slow the car down enough to avoid Alonso.

The stewards, including former F1 driver Enrique Bernoldi, ruled there was “no significant and relevant new element” in Ferrari's evidence which wasn't already clear when the penalty was issued in Australia.

“The conditions of the track and the tires was something that every competitor needed to take into account and adapt to,” the ruling stated. “In trying to brake late while racing (Pierre Gasly), (Sainz) adopted the risk that he, as a driver, would lose control of his car. In this case, that risk materialized, with the consequence of a collision that ensued, for which a penalty follows.”

Ferrari said the team was “naturally disappointed” not to be granted a review of the penalty and that it could seek to reform how penalties are awarded in the future.

“We are now looking forward to entering broader discussions with the FIA, F1, and all the teams," Ferrari said, "with the aim of further improving the policing of our sport, in order to ensure the highest level of fairness and consistency that our sport deserves.”

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