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Opinion: Was Carlos Sainz‘s Time Penalty Fair?


You may be aware that there was a very chaotic Australian Grand Prix that took place over the weekend and with it came the never ending debate over the FIA's inconsistency when it comes to in race penalties. And, yes, as the title suggests, I'm talking about THAT 5 second time penalty. The one for Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz, that he received towards the end of the race during one of the many red flag periods.


Let's start by rewinding back to lap 54. Haas driver Kevin Magnussen has stopped out on track after a clash with the barrier that has bought out the red flag for a second time. All the drivers therefore head back to the pits. The race restarts with one racing lap remaining but is quickly suspended again after carnage at the first corner.


Carlos Sainz tags his compatriot; Fernando Alonso which causes a chain reaction of events throughout the field. Pierre Gasly tries to avoid the initial contact and collides with his teammate, ending both of their races. Sergio Perez in the Red Bull also takes avaisive action but manages to get through ok. The same isn't said for Logan Sargaent and Nyck de Vries at the back of the field who both find themselves stuck in the gravel traps and out of the race. Should Sainz be held accountable for all of this? In normal race conditions, quite possibly. This, however, was far from normal.


With the red flag waving once again and only one racing lap remaining; the FIA seemed adamant the race would continue. However, the grid would be reset to the order at the last restart which leads us to the main discussion in this article - was Sainz's 5-second time penalty fair? The driver himself didn't think so.


After the Spaniard was told of the penalty during the final hiatus, he vented over team radio:


"No, it cannot be. Why is this me out of the points. No it’s unacceptable. They need to wait until the race is finished. No! They need to wait to discuss with me. The penalty is too severe!"


With Sainz in P4 and the field all bunched together with one lap remaining under safety car, his fantastic race to finish in the points had been undone. His frustration was understandable, especially as the previous lap had been effectively voided with everyone restarting, bar those who had crashed out, in their previous positions.


His mood was no better after the chequered flag was waved. He even cut his interview with Sky Sports F1 short telling them:


"I prefer not to talk right now, I'm too disappointed. It's the most unfair penalty I've seen in my life. I prefer to talk to the stewards now and then come back to you."


Other drivers, and ex-drivers came to Sainz's defence. Alonso, who was tagged by Sainz in the carnage, thought the penalty to be "too harsh."


"I think because on lap one it is very difficult always to judge what the grip level [is] and I think we don’t go intentionally into another car, you know, because we know that we risk also our car and our final position, so sometimes you end up in places that you wish you were not there in that moment."


Ex-driver Martin Brundle said on Twitter:


"That’s an inconsistent penalty for Sainz from a standing start in the early corners."


But not everyone came to the Spaniard's defence. Another twitter post, this time from ex-Williams reserve driver Jack Aitken read:


"For everyone asking why a penalty was applied even though the “lap didn’t happen”, it did! It was part of the race distance. And what’s more, it doesn’t matter. If you break the rules on a formation lap or on the way to the grid, you will still be penalised."


In short, everyone seems to have their own opinions on the matter and that's okay. What we can all agree on, however, is that the FIA are still extremely inconsistent with their penalties.


Do I think Sainz's penalty to be unfair? 100%. In my eyes, it was a racing incident and I'm not saying that as a Sainz fan. Effectively, the lap doesn't exist and the drivers were reinstated their positions. Of course, that didn't help those who crashed or got stuck in the gravel and couldn't restart the final lap but that's just one of those things. It's motorsport. Incidents happen. The issue with the penalty is the FIA. And, with multiple incidents in the past, surely it's time they studied their own rule book and kept things consistent? It's easier said than done.






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