Ferrari's bid to overturn Carlos Sainz's Australian Grand Prix five-second time penalty has been dismissed by Formula 1 stewards. The Scuderia requested a right of review over Sainz's penalty, which he was given in Melbourne for clipping Fernando Alonso out on the chaotic Lap 57 restart. With no more green flag racing possible, Sainz crossed the line in fourth place, but was demoted to 12th place, finishing last on what proved to be a pointless weekend for the team after Charles Leclerc's Lap 1 retirement.
Sainz penalty stands
Ferrari and Sainz were able to put their case to the stewards from Australia in a video meeting on Tuesday morning, but ultimately proved unsuccessful. The stewards found that Ferrari presented "no significant and relevant new element which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned. "The petition is therefore dismissed." A right of review is a common tool available to teams to use when they are unhappy with a decision - with two high-profile examples being Sebastian Vettel in Canada 2019 and Red Bull after the 2021 British Grand Prix when Max Verstappen was involved in a high-speed collision with Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap. Teams must bring new evidence which is "relevant" and was not available to the stewards at the time the penalty was issued - with Ferrari and Red Bull failing to clear this high bar in their appeals. With Sainz's penalty now standing and the result of the Australian GP official, it means that AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda will keep the World Championship point he picked up for 10th place, having been promoted from 11th after the sanction was handed out.
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