Acciona Sainz has submitted a petition to review the penalty handed to Rosberg X Racing in the first Island X Prix in light of new evidence.
Carlos Sainz was hospitalized after contact from Johan Kristoffersson sent him into a roll in the opening moments of the first final of the double-header event.
Afterwards, stewards decided to hand RXR a 30-second penalty, which dropped the team from victory to third, with Chip Ganassi Racing elevated to the top spot.
But since the decision, evidence such as new video angles, onboard videos, a series of still images, and data from the car – which only became available a few hours after the decision was confirmed – have all come to light.
What’s more, Sainz was in a local hospital undergoing precautionary checks at the time of the decision and was not able to talk about the incident to the relevant parties, according to a team spokesman.
The same spokesman also stressed to DirtFish that the petition is “not an appeal”, but rather a request to reconsider the severity of the penalty applied in light of the new evidence.
Speaking in the post-race press conference after round three, Kristoffersson was positive about a potential review.
“I think it’s good to take another look at it and see from all the different angles,” he said. “So I think that’s good to maybe review it again.”
Despite the incident, there appears to be no hard feelings between the individuals involved, with Kristoffersson and Sainz exchanging a thumbs up before their semifinal race together on Sunday morning, although during the Gridplay draw later in the day Sainz selected the grid position right next to RXR.
RXR won that semifinal with a trouble-free run, while Acciona Sainz resisted an early charge from Chip Ganassi Racing’s Hummer entry to come home second and join the champion team in the round three final.
