Explaining the Fernando Alonso mess - why his penalty at the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was overturned
Alonso was initially given a five-second time penalty for an incorrect starting position at the beginning of the race. When he served this penalty in the pits, it was initially ruled that mechanics began w♏orking on his car before the five-second penalty had elapsed - and this became the sticking point.
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack said: “The regulations say 🌠‘you may not work on the car’. It is ambiguous. We have a clear procedure, a countdown💃.”
Alonso was critical: “On the second penalty, there was no in🔯𒊎formation at all.”
Alonso was given a 10-second penalty for the second transgression, when♉ his mechanics began work on his car too ღearly, dropping him out of his podium-finish and into fourth-place behind George Russell. But it didn’t last long.
The FIA rule says ꩵa car that has a time penalty can not be “worked on until the car has been sꩲtationary for the duration of the penalty”.
The disagreemen✱t over whether Aston Martin broke rules, and therefore Alonso deserved to be punished, essentially comes d💙own to: what constitutes “worked on”.
The rear jack man pushed his jack under Alonso’s car before the five seconds had elapsed. But he d🐠id not raiseღ the car.
The FIA then said to justify penalising Alonso again: “No part of the car could be touched while a penalty was being served as this wou⭕ld constitute working on the car. In this case, it was clear, that the car was touched by the rear jack.”
Aston Martin appealed. The FIA Stewards were shown seven previous examples of a car being touched, but not lifted, by a reꦿar jack without being penalised.
Aston Martin argued that the FIA wording that “touching the car in any way” is wrong. Essentially, only working on 𓄧the car should be outlawed during a time penalty.
The Stewards reviewed the appeal and deci🥀ded that the wording in the FIA rules cannot be clearly agreed upon.
So, Al🐓onso was reins⭕tated to his third-place finish!
Expect the FI🦩A to re-word their rules ☂to clarify this issue before the F1 Australian Grand Prix.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a deꦗcade covering 🅰everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
