Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz congratulate compatriot Jon Rahm after Masters 2023 triumph

Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso recently congratulated fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm Rodríguez on winning the 2023 Masters Tournament. It is one of the four major championships in professional golf and was held from April 6 to 9, 2023, at the Augusta National Golf Club.

Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso congratulating Jon Rahm on Instagram for winning Master Golf Tournament (Collage via Sportskeeda)

Both Spanish F1 drivers posted Instagram stories about Rahm winning the golf championship. Sainz reposted a video when Rahm won the championship after finishing the last hole, while Alonso reposted an official poster made by the Masters Tournament for Rahm.

Both F1 drivers are massive fans of golf and are frequently seen playing on several courses around the globe when they are not racing. Hence, it is safe to say that they must be following golf events like the Masters Tournament and have congratulated Jon Rahm for winning it.

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Fernando Alonso feels Carlos Sainz's penalty in the 2023 F1 Australian GP was too harsh

The 2023 F1 Australian GP was certainly one of the worst races Carlos Sainz has ever experienced. During the first lap of the second race restart, Sainz accidentally collided with Fernando Alonso and sent him spinning. Hence, he was given a five-second penalty. However, Alonso feels that the penalty was too harsh, since Sainz had nowhere to go and it was the first lap after the restart.

Speaking to the media, Alonso explained the entire race restart and what happened with him and Sainz. He said:

“Obviously, I didn’t know who touched me in that moment, I just felt [it]. In lap one of the first start, someone touched me in Turn 3 and then in the last restart Carlos apparently touched me in Turn 1.

"Probably only [in] Jeddah I had the normal start, in Bahrain also in Turn 4 Lance touched me into Turn 4 so, yeah, I’m very attractive out there. But our car is strong enough, so it doesn’t matter if they keep touching us."

Fernando Alonso added:

“Probably the penalty is too harsh because on lap one it is very difficult always to judge what the grip level is and I think we don’t go intentionally into another car because we know that we risk also our car and our final position. So sometimes you ended up in places that you wish you were not there in that moment. And it’s just part of racing. I didn’t see the replay properly, but for me, it feels too harsh.”

Though these kinds of minor collisions in the first lap of the race or a race restart are usually categorized as racing incidents, Carlos Sainz was shown no mercy. Even though he urged his team to stall the penalty and let him talk to the stewards, the penalty was imposed after the race, sending him back in 12th position.