Fernando Alonso Defends Carlos Sainz In FIA Struggle

The Australian Grand Prix witnessed Carlos Sainz's minor mistake costing him dearly, as Fernando Alonso offered expert analysis on the risks involved in motorsports.

Carlos Sainz had a blistering pace in the Australian Grand Prix, but unfortunately, a minor error caused him dearly. The Spaniard made a small mistake on the last restart and ended up tapping Fernando Alonso, triggering a chain reaction of chaos on the circuit. The stewards imposed a five-second time penalty on Sainz, which the Ferrari driver believed to be too strong.

Sainz was not too thrilled with the penalty and felt that some incidents are often handled more leniently by the race officials. 

"I prefer not to talk right now," he told the press in a post-race debrief. "Honestly, I am too disappointed and I am going to say bad things.

"It is the most unfair penalty I have seen in my life.

"I prefer to have a conversation with them and then come talk to you guys because right now I cannot do it."

He continued, talking to ViaPlay: "It is the biggest disgrace I've seen in the sport for many years".

Despite hitting Fernando Alonso and causing him to temporarily lose his P3 place, the Aston Martin driver eventually admitted that even he thought the penalty was "too hard".

"I think because, on Lap One, it is very difficult always to judge what the grip level, 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 ended up in places that you wish you were not there in that moment.

"And it's just part of racing, but I didn't see the replay properly, but for me, it feels too hard."

Despite the setback, Fernando Alonso had a solid race and managed to secure his third podium finish of the season. With 45 points in the bag, the Spaniard currently sits third place in the Drivers' Championship behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.