FIA has dismissed Ferrari’s petition for review on the basis of the team failing to provide significant new evidence pertaining to the case.
Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari
A virtual hearing was held earlier today between the FIA and Ferrari representatives. During this meeting, the team presented elements they deemed to be relevant in the form of telemetry, Carlos Sainz’s written witness statement, and records of post-race interviews from other drivers.
The Scuderia cited a case involving the former Sahara Force India F1 team requesting a right of review and presenting a driver’s verbal testimony and telemetry to “put a different light on the facts that had been put to the Stewards.” However, the FIA highlighted the fact that—unlike in the Force India case—the decision to award Sainz a 5-second time penalty in the closing stages of the Australian Grand Prix was made in-race.
Ferrari’s proposed evidence was therefore dismissed as irrelevant: “The Stewards have access to a considerable amount of telemetry data. We were also in a position to access such data. The telemetry data presented in the Petition is at best ambiguous and in our view did not exculpate SAI but in fact corroborated our decision that he was wholly to blame for the collision.”
Sainz’s written account stated that he was affected by “poor grip” and “the sun in his eyes.” As all drivers were equally impacted by the on-track conditions, the FIA declared this was “not a justifiable reason to avoid a penalty for a collision.”
Similarly, records of other drivers’ statements were dismissed as insignificant to the case.
Sainz had previously expressed his frustration, arguing that the stewards should have heard from him before handing him a penalty.
Explaining their reasoning, the FIA wrote:
Shortly after the verdict was announced, Ferrari took to social media to publish an official statement: “We acknowledge the FIA 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 that we had provided sufficient significant new elements for the FIA to re-examine the decision especially in the context of the particular conditions and multiple incidents that occurred during the final restart.
“We are however respectful of the process and of the FIA decision. We are now looking forward to entering broader discussions with the FIA, F1 and all the Teams, 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.”
With the penalty upheld, Ferrari remains fourth in the Constructors’ championship standings, having scored 26 points in the first three rounds of the season.
