Sainz questions Latifi's lack of punishment in Monaco and demands "more clarity and awareness

Carlos Sainz was fined €25,000 for blocking Lance Stroll in qualifying in Monaco and questioned why the same didn't happen to Nicholas Latifi, who ignored the blue flag in the race when the Spaniard had a chance to fight for the win

Ferrari left the Monaco GP very unhappy with the race management, mainly for the incidents involving Carlos Sainz during the weekend in Monte Carlo. The Ferrari driver was fined €25,000 for holding off Lance Stroll in qualifying, but saw the stewards put their hands on Nicholas Latifi's head when the Williams driver ignored blue flag warnings during a lap in Sunday's race. Sainz charged for more "clarity and awareness" in track decisions.

Soon after receiving the fine, Sainz apologized to the Aston Martin driver for what happened on Saturday. In Sunday's race, the Spaniard started second and even had a chance of victory, but complained heavily about the loss of time behind Latifi.

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Carlos Sainz was fined in qualifying in Monaco (Photo: Ferrari)

"I can't even count how many times I was blocked in Monaco during the weekend, both dangerously and non-dangerously. What I don't understand is why we were fined €25,000 for a blockade I made," Sainz said. "I accepted the blame and apologized to Lance, but I don't understand why other cases were not investigated and resulted in fines for exactly the same thing," he asked.

In the end, Sainz saw Sergio Pérez take advantage of the situation and jump to the top. The Czech driver also counted on Ferrari's pit-stop mistake to win for the first time this year with Red Bull. But the Spaniard is convinced that the incident with Latifi is what put to rest any chance of achieving his dream first F1 victory.

"It cost us the same thing and there was no punishment. It was a clear block, so that's what we want more clarity and more consistency about, simple as that," Sainz added.

It wasn't only the driver of the #55 car who had problems with Williams' retarders in Monaco. Charles Leclerc experienced the same situation, only with Alexander Albon. The Thai driver left his pit-stop ahead of the Monegasque, but, because he had slicks on, while Leclerc had intermediate tires, he thought he would have a stronger pace and, therefore, decided to stay ahead, ignoring the blue flag.

Mattia Binotto said he understands that traffic in Monaco is a problem, but reinforced that the blockade made by Sainz in qualifying that earned him the fine doesn't even compare to Latifi's attitude. "We are not very happy with the fine, we think it was not the right choice because as a team and driver we did our best to avoid this situation and not make mistakes," the Ferrari boss concluded.