PARIS: Ferrari’s petition to review the penalty handed to Carlos Sainz at the Australian Grand Prix earlier this month has been rejected by race stewards, the FIA announced on Tuesday.

Sainz was given a five-second penalty for a collision with Fernando Alonso, with the Ferrari driver finishing 12th instead of fourth as the race ended behind the safety car.

Stewards reconvened on Tuesday but said Ferrari had not provided sufficient new evidence.

The FIA said Ferrari failed to bring “significant and relevant new information which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned”.

Alonso went on to finish the race in third despite the contact with Sainz which sent his Aston Martin spinning. On Tuesday, the stewards said Sainz was “wholly to blame for the collision”.

Sainz had claimed the sun shining in his eyes was a reason why he should not be considered at fault.

“Logic would dictate that the position of the sun would have equally impacted other drivers too,” the FIA statement continued. “It is not a justifiable reason to avoid a penalty for a collision.”

The Spaniard will retain his 12th-placed finish, with Ferrari failing to pick up any points in Melbourne after Charles Leclerc was forced to retire from the race. “We are naturally disappointed, and felt that we had provided sufficient significant new elements for the FIA to re-examine the decision,” Ferrari said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2023