"The sun? The freaking sun?": F1 fans shocked as Ferrari's arguments against Carlos Sainz's penalty come to light

The FIA has recently rejected a request to retract the penalty Carlos Sainz received in the 2023 F1 Australian GP.

After the race, Ferrari issued a 'right to review' document, providing several new pieces of evidence to support their case. Even after acknowledging all the information shared by the team, the FIA did not change the penalty or remove it.

Later on, the details of the right to review the document were revealed. After reading what Ferrari provided as evidence to retract Sainz's penalty, fans had many reactions.

One of the major points that stuck with the F1 Twitterati was how Ferrari mentioned that Carlos Sainz had the sun in his eyes and hence was unable to see Fernando Alonso properly during the second restart of the race. Another point was that Sainz had cold tires and was unable to control his car as intended and avoid the collision.

Several fans flocked to Twitter and humorously discussed how Ferrari used the sun in the driver's eyes as an excuse to remove the penalty. Others also mentioned how other drivers must also be struggling to see clearly and have cold tires. They even posted memes about the sun.

Here are some of the reactions:

Even the telemetry that was provided by Ferrari did not prove that Sainz was not at fault during the collision.

Though it is understandable how difficult it can be to drive an F1 car when the sun is angled in a particular way and the tires are cold, the FIA did not deem the reason strong enough for them to retract the penalty.

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Carlos Sainz posts a statement after the FIA rejected Ferrari's plea to retract his Australian GP penalty

After the FIA closed Carlos Sainz's penalty case by rejecting Ferrari's 'right to review' evidence, the Spaniard made a statement and posted it on his official Instagram and Twitter accounts. He expressed his disappointment on not getting justice from the FIA.

However, he later stated how he will continue to look forward and leave the Australian GP in his rearview mirrors and wrote:

"Very disappointed that the FIA did not grant us a right to review."

He continued:

"Two weeks later, I still think the penalty is too disproportionate and I believe it should have at least been reviewed on the basis of the evidence and reasoning we have presented. We have to continue working together to improve certain things for the future."

"The consistency and decision-making process has been a hot topic for many seasons now and we need to be clearer for the sake of our sport. What happened in Australia is now in the past and I am 100% focused on the next race in Baku."

Carlos Sainz currently sits in fifth place in the drivers' championship. Due to the penalty, he was unable to score any points and finished in 12th place.