‘This decision will dictate if the sport is going in the right direction,’ Fernando Alonso thinks Thursday protest hearing is an ‘important day for the sport’
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Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso’s crash with Lance Stroll on lap 22, when his car was airborne for a few seconds after colliding with Stroll’s left-rear tyre, gave him quite a bit of damage. But miraculously, he was able to continue, and even recovered to finish P7, as the safety car necessitated by the crash gave him less of a disadvantage in the pits. Nevertheless, it was a Herculean feat.
But it’s all been taken away, as Haas filed a protest against Alpine due to Alonso’s car being in an unsafe condition on the track. In the latter stages of the race, Alonso’s right side mirror had been shaking, until it finally completely detached. This handed him a 30-second post-race penalty, dropping him out of the points and back to P15.
But Alpine had chosen to protest this decision, saying that Haas lodged their protest 24 minutes after the specified deadline, and as such, the protest and the decision are invalid. Weighing in with his own opinion on the proceedings, the Spaniard said as per Sky Sports: “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.”
A hearing will take place regarding the decision on Thursday, with Alonso saying that the decision will decide Formula 1’s future path: “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.”
Also Read: “FIA, YOU’RE A SHAME” F1 Fans furious with Fernando Alonso’s 30-second post-race penalty
Differing viewpoints on Fernando Alonso’s penalty
The FIA’s decision to penalize Fernando Alonso has not gone down well with most fans. While people generally acknowledge that a black-and-orange flag was necessary in the situation, they are angry because it was not shown by the stewards, but instead, the Spaniard was penalized hours after the race. One can argue that a post-race penalty is more damaging to a race result than it would be during the race.
It is easy to understand where Haas’ protest comes from: On three occasions this season, Kevin Magnussen has been shown the black-and-orange flag, for front wing damage from first-lap contacts. They wanted to see if there is consistency in the decisions, and of course, it also gives them much-needed points.
Alonso’s penalty promotes Sebastian Vettel to P7, Kevin Magnussen to P8, Yuki Tsunoda to P9 and his teammate Esteban Ocon also takes just one point with a P10. But Alonso’s penalty means that McLaren are now just six points behind Alpine in the Constructor Standings, as Lando Norris took a P6 finish home. They desperately need any points they can get.
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