Carlos Sainz walking with Fernando Alonso
Although Carlos Sainz would not be drawn on nationality playing a role in the stewards’ rulings, he has called them out for inconsistency after Oscar Piastri pushed him wide at the Miami Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso, a fellow Spaniard of Sainz, expressed his criticism of the stewards during the Miami Grand Prix. He believed Lewis Hamilton should have been penalized for his aggressive entry into Turn 1 during the Sprint race, comparing it to a charging bull.
Carlos Sainz: Not about nationality, but consistency
Additional reporting by Pablo Hidalgo
The Aston Martin driver expressed skepticism about Hamilton receiving a penalty for crashing into Alonso, mentioning that it might be unlikely due to Hamilton not being Spanish.
With Hamilton not penalised, Alonso doubled down his comment when he said: “I do feel that nationality matters.
“I intend to have a conversation with Mohammed (Ben Sulayem, FIA president), as well as with the FIA, if necessary. It is crucial for me to ensure that there are no issues concerning my nationality or any factors that could potentially impact any decisions made. This is not only important for me personally, but also for the upcoming generation of Spanish drivers who require safeguarding.”
But while Alonso feels this is a pressing issue, Sainz instead called for consistency from the stewards.
In his conversation with DAZN on Sunday evening, he expressed, “Nationalities don’t factor into my opinion. What matters to me is the level of consistency or inconsistency in the penalties.”
He went onto liken his battle with Oscar Piastri in the Grand Prix, where the McLaren driver pushed him wide as they jostled over fourth place, to Kevin Magnussen’s penalty-punished antics in the Sprint.
Sainz expressed his surprise at Piastri’s actions, noting that they were similar to what Magnussen did the previous day. Despite Piastri receiving several penalties, he did not return the position to Sainz.
“Afterwards, I told myself, ‘If everyone is going in this direction, let’s embrace it and go for it’.”
He took the plunge, but unfortunately, the Spaniard was penalized for colliding with Piastri during the race, resulting in the Australian driver requiring a replacement front wing.
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Sainz elaborated, stating, “For some unknown reason, the stewards allowed us to engage in a more intense battle today compared to the norm.”
“I noticed that I wasn’t being given enough space, and although I couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, I made a mental note of it. Consequently, I adopted the same approach as my rivals throughout the entire race, becoming more assertive in my actions.”
The Ferrari driver initially secured fourth place, but due to a penalty, he dropped to fifth position. Unfortunately, he faced ill-fortune as the Safety Car appeared at an inopportune time for him. He had just made a pit stop, whereas Lando Norris, his competitor for position, had not yet done so.
As a result, Norris received a complimentary pit stop and went on to secure the win through his exceptional racing skills.
Sainz expressed, “Today presented a fantastic chance for us to secure a podium finish or potentially even win the race, considering the excellent pace we had. I executed a strong start, but unfortunately, it seemed that Checo caused an incident, resulting in all of us being taken out without much caution.”
“Afterward, we displayed impressive speed, enabling me to create a distance to preserve the tires. Unfortunately, we narrowly missed the opportunity of a Safety Car, which could have potentially led us to victory had we capitalized on it.”
“If we had continued for just another lap, victory could have been ours. However, it all boils down to luck. The encouraging aspect is that we maintained an impressive pace throughout.”
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