Carlos Sainz Responds to Fernando Alonso: ‘He Complained on the Radio and Got Me Penalized, As Always’

Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz did not have a good debut in Madring. The two Spanish drivers collided with each other in the opening laps, while Alonso was trying to overtake Sainz. A maneuver that ended with radio complaints from the Asturian and a five-second penalty for Sainz by the stewards.

Alonso complained on the radio about Sainz’s aggression in the early laps, where he had another incident besides the aforementioned one. After the race, Sainz has responded to Alonso. The Madrid-born driver believes that a penalty was not necessary for that incident, but that the reason it was imposed was precisely Alonso’s complaints.

Alonso and Sainz collided on lap 8 at Madring

Sunday in Madrid began with Alonso and Sainz together, tossing T-shirts to the fans who were filling Madring’s stands. It ended with a collision between them and a bitter exchange of statements. Alonso accused Sainz of excessive aggression at the start of the race, and now Sainz has responded to him.

Regarding the accident with Alonso, Sainz considers that “it’s the nature of that corner when you turn to the right and I think he complained on the radio, so he got me penalized, as always.” Sainz was penalized with an additional five seconds to be served at his first pit stop.

On the radio, Alonso had complained right after the incident that “at the start he took two in front and now me”, referring to Carlos Sainz having already bumped Yuki Tsunoda in the opening meters of the race. The Madrid-born driver was not penalized for that incident, but for the one that happened a few laps later with Alonso.

The fact is that that touch ruined both Spaniards’ race. Alonso had to return to the pits to change the front wing, and he also lost about 20 units of downforce. As for Sainz, he served his penalty but also carried some damage to his car that forced him to retire from the race.

Sainz says that after the touch “the car was damaged and it became a survival race”, because I was left without rear downforce for the rest of the race. Anyway, we had nothing to lose on that opening lap and I wanted to make a good start to see if we could take something from this Grand Prix.

The Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix ended in the way fans least desired, with an incident and more tension between Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.

Images | Aston Martin, Williams