Carlos Sainz ‘executed on live TV’ after penalty scandal

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was a broken man when told on team radio he was about to be screwed over by a ruling that’s rocked Formula 1.

Carlos Sainz got screwed over. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images.

You could feel the magnitude of the despair in Carlos Sainz’s voice when he learned on team radio he was about to be the victim of a screw job.

The Ferrari star was essentially stripped of a spot on the podium after he was handed a five-second penalty. FIA race stewards found Sainz was responsible for contact with Fernando Alonso - which nudged the Aston Martin driver off the track as all hell broke loose before the race was red-flagged for a third time.

In a wild Australian Grand Prix, just 12 cars completed the race.

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Sainz had jumped up to third as a result of Alonso’s spin before four cars were wiped out in the crazy scenes that saw the race red-flagged on lap 56 and again on lap 57.

Because the race was red-flagged on lap 57 without a lap being completed from the previous red-flag stoppage, the grid order reverted back to the order “at the last point at which it was possible to determine the position of all of the cars” — as directed under FIA rules.

It ended up a fatal blow to Sainz with the five-second penalty actually turning into a hammer blow because the race ended under a final safety car procession lap from a rolling start. The bunched up grid saw Sainz fall from fourth to 12th — last on the grid — by the time the penalty was added to his time.

Ferrari's Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Jr competes during the 2023 Formula One Australian Grand Prix. Photo by Paul CROCK / AFP.

Because of the decision to revert the order back to the previous re-start, Alonso was able to keep a spot on the podium alongside race-winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

It was sheer misery for Sainz — and he knew it was going to happen even before the race was over.

Sainz desperately pleaded with his team to appeal the five-second penalty when he was given the bad news on team radio.

“No, it cannot be,” he said.

“It’s unacceptable. Tell them it’s not acceptable.

“Ask them please, please, please to wait. The penalty is too severe.”

That is certainly the way the majority of the Formula 1 world saw it - especially since his Alonso did not end up being negatively impacted by their collision.

Alonso also said in the post match press conference that the penalty was “too harsh”.

so when i said i wanted vengeance for fernando alonso, I didn't mean carlos sainz should be executed live on television

— Simone de Rochefort (@doomquasar) April 2, 2023

This Australian GP is insane. They did Carlos Sainz so dirty. How did they think the restart with two laps would go??

— Zach Schwartz (@zachzachzach) April 2, 2023

This penalty for Sainz is criminal though given how the race will end that’s nonsense

— Alessandro Barbosa (@CaptionBarbosa) April 2, 2023

Lmaooo Carlos Sainz just got the worst five second penalty in the history of the sport.

— Rob Pizzola (@robpizzola) April 2, 2023

Sainz getting a penalty is next level stupid...

— Jarno Opmeer (@jarno_opmeer) April 2, 2023

“The restart didn’t happen but we are going to penalize Carlos Sainz anyway”

— Alanis King (@alanisnking) April 2, 2023

How has Sainz been given a penalty if the red flag restart technically didn’t count/happen? #AusGP

— Harry Roy (@HarryRoySport) April 2, 2023

Sainz just got a penalty for something that didn't actually impact Alonso's finish because he's still 3rd? And now he's not going to get points unless there's more shenanigans during a formation lap? I'm so confused. How does this keep happening for a sport this big.

— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) April 2, 2023

Sainz was handed a five-second time penalty for bumping into Alonso, which demoted him to 12th, consigning Ferrari to a pointless race.

In the end, only 12 of the 20 drivers completed the Grand Prix, meaning Oscar Piastri finished eighth to score the first championship points of his career at his home race.

Red Bull has won the first three races of a season for the first time ever, while Alonso has finished on the podium in every race so far in 2023.

Sainz was about the only driver that had a worse day than Mercedes’ George Russell, who bombed out with a fiery power unit failure that came after a pit stop strategy that cost him the lead of the race.

Australian Grand Prix results

1) Max Verstappen

2) Lewis Hamilton

3) Fernando Alonso

4) Lance Stroll

5) Sergio Perez

6) Lando Norris

7) Niko Hulkenberg

8) Oscar Piastri

9) Zhou Guanyu

10) Yuki Tsunoda

Originally published as Carlos Sainz ‘executed on live TV’ after penalty scandal