Following the second crimson flag interval initiated by the right-rear tyre breaking free from the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, Sainz clipped Alonso through the race restart on the exit of the Flip 1 right-hander.
Two-time F1 world champion Alonso had lined up third for the third standing begin of the heavily disrupted Melbourne race together with his compatriot alongside on the second row of the grid.
Alonso moved to the surface of the observe after an preliminary run at Lewis Hamilton however as he reduce throughout, the front-left wheel of Sainz’s automotive tagged the AMR23 to ship it spinning into the wall.
The controversial dealing with of the ensuing third crimson flag – with a security automotive known as to steer the sector over the road within the order of the earlier restart minus crashed vehicles – allowed Alonso to reclaim third.
Nevertheless, Sainz was handed a five-second penalty and dropped to a point-less twelfth because of the bunched-up practice of vehicles crossing the road in fast succession.
Alonso reckoned the punishment didn’t match the crime, saying: “In all probability the penalty is just too harsh.
“On lap one [of a restart], it is extremely tough all the time to guage what’s the grip stage, and I feel we do not go deliberately into one other automotive, you realize?
“We all know that we danger additionally our automotive and our ultimate place, so generally you ended up in locations that you just want you weren’t there in that second.
“It is simply a part of racing. I did not see the replay correctly, however for me, it feels too onerous.”
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Picture by: Ferrari
Sainz labelled his reprimand as “the most unfair penalty I’ve ever seen in my life“, with Ferrari crew boss Fred Vasseur pissed off that his driver was not given a listening to to offer his model of occasions earlier than being punished.
Alonso gave his account of the collision, saying: “Clearly, I did not know who touched me in that second. I simply felt in lap one of many first begin, somebody touched me in Flip 3.
“Then within the final restart, Carlos apparently touched me in Flip 1. I imply, in all probability solely Jeddah [previous round in Saudi Arabia] I had the conventional begin.
“In Bahrain additionally in Flip 4, Lance [Stroll, Aston team-mate] touched me, so I am very engaging on the market!
“However our automotive is robust sufficient. So, it would not matter in the event that they preserve touching us.”