Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso had a tense clash at the start of the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. The two Spanish drivers collided in the opening moments of the race, spoiling both of their chances to score points. Sainz believes it was just a simple, innocent incident, but Alonso has not been as magnanimous.
Fernando Alonso believes that Sainz had too many incidents in Madrid, and he ran through the list of the trouble the Madrid-born driver had. In fact, Alonso wonders why, at times, Sainz escapes without penalty for these incidents, even though the stewards did penalize the Williams driver after the clash with the Asturian.
Alonso Had to Change Front Wing After Contact With Carlos Sainz
There were no great hopes that Alonso and Sainz would score points in Madrid, but the little they had left disappeared almost immediately in the early part of the race. The two Spaniards touched in Madrid when Alonso was going for the outside and Sainz boxed him against the wall, breaking his front wing.
The stewards decided to penalize Sainz with a five-second penalty, while Alonso had to pit to change his front wing. Sainz believes that his penalty is not fair, but Alonso disagrees. In fact, he believes that the Madrid-born driver escapes too often without penalties.
Alonso explains that Sainz “shoved me into the wall at 340 km/h, when there was plenty of space to the left. It isn’t the first time he does this.” In fact, the Aston Martin driver has recalled that “Sainz has had a difficult weekend. He was penalized in qualifying on Saturday, at the start he took someone out, and then into the wall against me.”
What Alonso is referring to is that at the start Sainz over-braked and knocked into Yuki Tsunoda, a move that escaped sanction. That is why Alonso laments that “sometimes he receives a penalty and other times not, I don’t know why”, but later Alonso chose to be understanding and stated that “it can happen. There are weekends that come out a bit twisted.”
The fact is that the race for both of them was already ruined at that moment. Alonso changed the front wing, but he still had other irreparable damages that caused him to lose more than twenty aero points. As for Sainz, he also carried damages that forced him to retire after he had already fallen more than two laps behind the leaders.
An incident that arrives at a time when Alonso and Sainz have had a tense relationship since early 2023, when they had a few run-ins.
Images | Aston Martin, Williams, Formula 1
