Fernando Alonso believes that the decision to give him a 10-second penalty at the Saudi Arabian GP should have been made during the race; watch the Australian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 between March 31 and April 2
Fernando Alonso has hit out at the FIA after a 10-second post-race penalty demoted him from third to fourth at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Alonso, who started the race in P2 and led the first four laps after passing polesitter and eventual winner Sergio Pérez, was promptly handed a five-second penalty for an incorrect start position as he lined up too far to the left of your grid box.
The Spaniard served the penalty under a Safety Car when his teammate Lance Stroll broke down on lap 19.
However, he was later given an additional 10-second penalty because the stewards felt that the Aston Martin pit crew had started work on his car too soon because the rear jack was in contact with his AMR23, promoting George Russell. from Mercedes to third position and took away Alonso’s 100th podium as a Formula 1 driver.
Despite the incident occurring on lap 19, Alonso only received the penalty after the race and celebrations were over, leading him to call the decision a “poor show” by the FIA.
“To be honest, it doesn’t hurt too much,” Alonso told Sky Sports F1.
“I was on the podium, I took photos, I took the trophy, I celebrated and now apparently I have three points less. I’m not 15, I’m 12.
“I think it’s more the FIA, the bad show today, rather than the disappointment of ourselves.
“You cannot apply a penalty 35 laps after the pit stop.
“They had plenty of time to report the penalty. If I knew that then maybe I would open up 11 seconds to the car behind.”
“Today, we did not put on a good show for our fans.
“I know the team is trying to go over it with the stewards now because we didn’t fully understand the second penalty.
“I do care, but I don’t care as much as I’ve celebrated and now I’m down three points. Okay, let’s try to recover in Australia.”
Aston Martin reviewed the incident with the stewards and team principal Mike Krack left open the possibility of an appeal.
“First of all we need to see the videos, what exactly happened, so this is what we are doing now. So I can’t say at the moment where this will go,” Krack told Sky Sports F1.
“The regulation said you can’t work on the car, maybe it’s a bit ambiguous, but this is something we have to look at, we have a clear procedure for it, we have a countdown and everything was completely safe.”
“No advantage emerged, so let’s see how this plays out.”
Russell: Penalty a ‘tough’ decision for Alonso
Although Alonso’s 10-second penalty benefited Russell and earned him a podium finish, the Mercedes driver believes it was a “tough decision” by the stewards.
“I think it was very hard what happened to Fernando in all honesty,” Russell said.
“I feel like some of these penalties have been too extreme like what we’ve seen this weekend.
“However, I’m happy to pick up the cutlery.”
Watch the Australian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 between March 31 and April 2. Get Sky Sports
