Fernando Alonso speaks about the sanction that took him out of the points on Sunday.
Fernando Alonso has spoken for the first time about the sanction that made him lose the deserved five points that he added after his epic performance in the United States Grand Prix last Sunday. For the Spaniard, next Thursday, when the FIA will study whether to accept Alpine’s protest, will be a key day for the future of F1.
Except in the Haas team, which was the one that asked Alonso to be sanctioned for running without a rearview mirror, in the rest of the Formula 1 paddock there seems to be unanimity. The Asturian’s penalty has been considered excessive, since he was not to blame for having suffered damage to the rear-view mirror and, furthermore, the FIA allowed him to continue competing during the race.
The problem came later, when Haas protested the “insecurity” of Alonso’s presence on the track and the FIA, this time yes, admitted the protest and considered that the Spaniard’s car did not comply with the regulations… although, curiously, in the technical scrutiny, it had been given the green light moments before.
The Alpine team has requested a review of the sanction and the FIA will now study whether to admit the protest, after a hearing that will take place on Thursday in Mexico.
“Thank you for all the messages I have received,” Alonso said in a ‘storie’ on his Instagram. “This is one of those rare moments in sport, where I feel like we are on the same page and we share the same vision about the rules,” continued the Spaniard.
“Thursday is an important day for the sport that I love so much. This decision will dictate whether we go in the right direction for the future,” he added.
This weekend there will be Formula 1 again in Mexico, where much will be said about the decision made by the FIA after the race in Austin. This, beyond the paddock, has outraged the fans that followed the test on Sunday, since after vibrating with Alonso’s race, they saw how the Spaniard lost his only reward.
“Did Alonso risk his life for two hours and then receive a 30-second penalty because he lost his rearview mirror? It’s obviously not ideal (racing without a rearview mirror), but it seems excessive to me, especially when we saw during the race that they missed various front wing endplates,” said, for example, Karun Chandhok, a former F1 driver and now a commentator.
“A misfortune could have happened (…) What is happening? Do the stewards not agree with the decisions of the Race Direction?” Asked Damon Hill, 1996 F1 world champion.
