Carlos Sainz demands explanation from FIA over Sergio Perez controversy

Sainz believes that both he and Perez were disadvantaged during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz was frustrated at a ruling made by the FIA during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Getty Images)

Carlos Sainz has said that the FIA must make in-race rulings “more efficiently” after feeling that both he and Sergio Perez were hampered during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

As the pair began to jostle for a potential place on the podium, Red Bull’s Perez had overtaken Sainz’s Ferrari during a safety car period.

That meant the Mexican was required to hand the place back.

However the FIA did not allow Perez to do so until after racing resumed, four laps after the original move was made.

It meant that Perez had to allow Sainz to pass after the green flag waved, denying both the chance to challenge after the restart and leaving Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc to duel for top spot in Jeddah.

“[It is] a number one priority that we need to talk with the FIA,” Sainz said of the decision after finishing third, one place ahead of Perez, who had begun on pole.

“Basically Checo [Perez’s nickname] lost the opportunity to fight with me on the restart and I lost the opportunity to fight with Max for not giving up their position during the Safety Car.

“We had a lot of laps to do it. The FIA didn’t allow us and I think for the sake of racing on the sake of Formula 1, these kind of things, they need to happen quicker and they need happen more efficiently.

We created a mess that for me is unnecessary, given the fact that we did six laps behind the Safety Car and there were millions of opportunities for Checo to let me by and have a good fight at the restart.

Max Verstappen beats Charles Leclerc to the finish line at the Saudi GP (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“If I would have got passed by [George] Russell for example, what would we have done? Would Checo have had to let by Russell and me, which would have been tremendously unfair for him too? Or then Checo doesn’t give me back the position because there’s Russell in between me and him and it’s tremendously unfair for me?

“So I don’t know, it’s just these kind of things that as a sport we need to keep getting better at because I think we need to simplify things and just make it more quicker and easier for everyone to understand and even for the drivers to go racing with a much clearer mind.”

Ferrari’s strong start to the season continued with two podium finishes in Saudi Arabia and will hope for more success at the Australian Grand Prix, which returns after a two-year Covid-enforced absence.

No team has won more often than the Italians in Melbourne.