Fernando Alonso during his stint with McLaren in F1
Fernando Alonso dropped from seventh to 15th at the US Grand Prix after receiving a penalty following Haas’ protest
Fernando Alonso took to social media to hit out at the FIA after receiving a harsh penalty at the US Grand Prix. Alonso lost a seventh place at the Circuit of The Americas on Sunday after stewards upheld a protest from rivals Haas about the safety of his car as he continued racing with loose bodywork. Alpine has already appealed the decision and the outcome will be revealed on Thursday ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix.
Alonso is clearly disappointed and eagerly awaits the final decision on Thursday. “It’s one of those rare times in sport, that I feel we are all on the same page and share the same opinion towards rules and regulations. Therefore, Thursday is an important day for the sport that we love so much, as this decision will dictate if we are going in the right direction for the future”, the former world champion wrote on Instagram story. Haas had appealed that Alonso’s car was in an unsafe condition after a collision because the right-hand mirror, which eventually fell off, was moving around and the stewards upheld their request.
In their official statement, the Alpine F1 team has stated that Haas lodged their complaint 24 minutes past the specified deadline and therefore it should be considered invalid and Alonso’s penalty shouldn’t stand. “Because of this point, the team has protested the admissibility of the original Haas F1 team protest”, Alpine wrote.
After the race at the Circuit of The Americas, Haas had protested to both Alonso and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who finished fourth, being allowed to continue racing after damage from collisions. However, the stewards rejected the protest against Red Bull but upheld the one against Alpine, which meant Alonso dropped to 15th with a 30 second post-race penalty.
Haas had also correctly pointed out that they had been shown a black and orange flag, requiring a driver to pit because of mechanical problems or loose bodywork, on three occasions this season. It remains to be seen what the FIA eventually decided and that will certainly influence both the drivers’ and constructors’ leaderboard.
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