The F1 Australian Grand Prix Steward has ruled that Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz will be punished following FP1 on Friday, April 8th, for obstructing Zhou Guanyu’s run.
Immediately following the start of the first session of the weekend, Steward deliberated Sainz on suspicion that car No. 55 Ferrari F1-75 during the outlap was suspected of obstructing Zhou Guanyu’s running during the push lap.
After the session, Steward confirmed hearings from both drivers and representatives of both teams, as well as evidence footage.
According to Steward, Sainz admitted that he was distracted shortly following entering the course. At the same time, he explained that he might not hear the warning from the team that Zhou Guanyu was approaching due to a problem with the radio volume.
After deliberation, Steward determined that there was a violation of Article 37, Paragraph 5 of the FIA-F1 Sporting Regulations. He ruled that Sainz would be subject to the first driving action of the season.
Five reprimands during a season will result in a 10-grid demotion penalty for the driver. However, this is limited to cases where 4 out of 5 warnings are violations related to driving.
