D-day for Sainz approaches: what happens at the FIA this morning?

The FIA will consider the 'Right to Review' filed by Ferrari on Tuesday at 8:00am CET. The Italian racing stable wants the penalty given to Carlos Sainz at the Australian Grand Prix to be reviewed.

There was considerable chaos at the final restart of the Australian Grand Prix: Logan Sargeant tapped Nyck de Vries into the gravel, Pierre Gasly eliminated his teammate Esteban Ocon and Sainz tapped Fernando Alonso around the track. Only Sainz received a penalty, to the displeasure of his team Ferrari. It did not understand why one collision did attract a five-second penalty and the rest did not.

In principle, yes. However, teams do have the option to challenge the result. They can do so to the 'Right to Review', part of the FIA's International Sporting Code. Rule 14.1.1 of this document states that a protest can be initiated with new information.

The FIA is assessing in Paris whether the new information provided by Ferrari is important and relevant, and the stewards should take a fresh look at the matter.

The FIA may decide that the stewards should consider a protest based on the new evidence. In that case, a date will be set for a hearing, at which Ferrari can have its say again. This meeting is not on Tuesday. So if the 'Right to Review' is granted, Australia's result is not yet final. If the FIA does not grant a 'Right to Review', Sainz's appeal options are gone. Then the penalty will remain and Sainz will be 12th.

We do not know exactly what Ferrari's new evidence means. That makes it impossible to make a judgment beforehand. Moreover, the FIA remains inscrutable at times. It could go either way with the international motorsport federation, so who knows!