Martin Brundle labels Fernando Alonso’s Saudi Arabian GP podium saga as an ’embarrassment’ to F1
Fernando Alonso's podium at Saudi Arabian GP was plagued by penalties, branded an "embarrassment" by Martin Brundle.
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Martin Brundle and Fernando Alonso (Credits: The Daily Express)
Fernando Alonso‘s start to the 2023 season has been a remarkable one so far. He has achieved back-to-back podiums in the first two races of the season and has now become a part of the 100 podiums club. However, his podium finishes at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix were mired in controversy, leaving Formula One veteran and Sky Sports F1 pundit, Martin Brundle labeling Fernando Alonso’s podium saga at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as an “embarrassment.”
Fernando Alonso finished the race in third place. Still, his podium celebrations were cut short after he was initially hit with a 10-second post-race penalty for not serving a previous 5-second time penalty correctly, which later got rescinded following an appeal by Aston Martin. “All rather embarrassing and this will be tightened up before the next race in Australia,” he said.
“The third-place trophy would be Fernando’s, but only after a couple of rounds of ‘pass the parcel’ The rear jack was casually put into place ready to service the car at the end of the five seconds,” he said. “I remembered being surprised by how the rear jack was positioned during the penalty time.”
Martin Brundle’s scathing critique on Fernando Alonso’s 100th podium penalty debacle
Brundle also highlighted a flaw in modern-day F1 rulemaking, where some rules are enforced by understandings and agreements, rather than by the wording of the rules themselves. He wrote, “This was pointed out to race control – presumably by Mercedes – as an infraction of the rules. Inevitably in previous team meetings this issue, whether positioning jacks constituted ‘working on the car’, had been discussed.”
The debate was centered on whether Aston Martin began working on Alonso’s vehicle before the penalty was fully served. While race control initially deemed the penalty properly served, the remote operations center and stewards later disagreed and found Aston Martin at fault for touching the car with a jack before the penalty was fully served. Aston Martin argued that the touch did not constitute working on the car and cited previous instances. The stewards sided with Aston Martin, overturning Alonso’s penalty and applying the exception universally to Jack.
“The trophy made its way to George Russell, who received it with some dignity, saying he thought Fernando deserved third place,” Brundle wrote. “By the time Aston had made their case that it had been agreed by discussion and precedents that the jacks can touch the car but not lift it, the trophy was winging its way back along the paddock to confirm Alonso’s 100th podium in F1.
The Brit also talks about the decision to send out a safety car, although Lance Stroll’s stricken Aston Martin has been out of harm’s way. “ Stroll did a fine job of parking in a service road, and the Safety Car was not actually needed, but apparently, the GPS in race control said he was still on track. The actual camera angles suggested otherwise…” he wrote. Brundle’s comments shed light on a controversial incident at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the wider issue of inconsistent rule enforcement in F1. While Alonso’s podium was ultimately upheld, the incident serves as a reminder of the need for greater clarity and consistency in F1 rules and penalties.
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Rohit Bhaskar
(727 Articles Published)