Drama Ensues At Saudi Arabian GP As Alonso Is Stripped Of P3 & Then Reinstated

Sahil GuptaMar 20, 2023

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Alonso was initially deprived of his 100th podium finish due to a 10-second penalty issued by the stewards

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was relatively uneventful as Red Bull drivers Perez and Verstappen finished in a dominant 1-2 position. Verstappen worked his way up from P15 and benefited from a safety car caused by Lance Stroll's retirement in the Aston Martin, allowing him to overtake the Ferraris, who had pitted with a free pitstop. However, the real drama unfolded behind Verstappen when Fernando Alonso in the other Aston Martin received a 5-second penalty for starting in the wrong position. Alonso had also overtaken Perez at the start, but eventually had to give way to the Mexican, who had a faster car. During the pitstop drama, Alonso served his penalty, but reportedly his car made contact with the wheel jack, which the stewards deemed to be work in progress on the car post-race.

There were concerns regarding whether Alonso would receive a penalty at the end of the race, so he created a 5-second gap between himself and George Russell in the Mercedes. However, after the post-race formalities were completed, Alonso was initially deprived of his 100th podium finish due to a 10-second penalty issued by the stewards. This decision was later reversed, following an appeal by Aston Martin.

According to Alonso, the FIA's performance was not up to par as it took an excessive amount of time to issue his penalty, despite his ability to open up a 10-second gap on George Russell. The penalty was initially given to Alonso following the penalty to his former teammate Esteban Ocon in the Alpine at Bahrain.

“Whilst a car is stationary in the pit lane as a result of incurring a penalty, it may not be worked on until the car has been stationary for the duration of the penalty,” said the FIA ruling. The replays indicate that the Aston Martin pit crew did not perform any work on the car, although the rear jack man placed the jack under the rear lifting point of the car and made contact with it. However, he did not lift the car off the ground. Despite this, the FIA declared that the crew was working on the car.

However, Aston Martin contested this decision by demonstrating that there was no explicit agreement among the teams to avoid touching the car with the jack during pit stops. This was the main issue in the initial complaint lodged by Mercedes after Alonso had established a 5-second lead over Russell.

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Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Saudi Arabian GP
Formula 1
F1
F1 Saudi Arabian GP
Fernando Alonso
Lewis Hamilton
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez