Fernando Alonso backs up his criticism of the penalty points against Nico Hülkenberg after the sprint in Austria and calls for a general reduction in the rules
The veteran driver backs up his criticism of the current penalty practice in Formula 1. Fernando Alonso thinks it is right that Nico Hülkenberg received a time penalty in the sprint at the Red Bull Ring for pushing the two-time world champion. But not that he received penalty points for it.
“When the penalty points were introduced, the aim was to prevent dangerous drivers from continuing to receive penalties without ever receiving a race ban. And generally to prevent dangerous maneuvers on the track,” says the Aston Martin driver.
“But now we are confusing dangerous situations with simple mistakes in the race. I made such a mistake in turn 3 and touched Guanyu Zhou. The same goes for Nico or other drivers – you make a mistake and pay the price. Either you give the position back or you get a five or ten second time penalty.”
“Such mistakes have happened and will always happen. But I don’t understand what’s dangerous about such maneuvers.” The penalty points were introduced in 2014. They were triggered by a starting accident at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix involving Romain Grosjean, in which Fernando Alonso was also involved.
“They are intended to prevent dangerous driving and protect us from drivers who put people in danger every two or three weeks, as has been the case in the past,” the 42-year-old continued.
“But now we are confusing driving errors with dangerous driving. This only takes away the incentive to attempt an overtaking maneuver if you immediately receive penalty points for a mistake. Sometimes it’s better to stay at the back. This only encourages maneuvers with DRS. I think that’s wrong. “
Regulations must be dismantled
In general, he dislikes the excessive rules bureaucracy in Formula 1: “We’ve never had as many rules as we do today. We’re not allowed to overtake here, we’re not allowed to drive fast there, we’re not allowed to drive slowly there, we’re not allowed to… Actually nothing at all!”
“It’s so over-regulated and that frustrates us drivers sometimes. That also applies to the teams. We have to find a solution between everyone. We can’t leave the FIA alone, we have to propose something better than the current rules. And among all of us.”
So away from the rules and back to mutual trust between the drivers, as Kevin Magnussen suggests? “That’s how I’ve always done it when I’ve battled with other drivers,” Alonso lets on.
And he admits: “In the heat of battle, you forget the rules for a moment when you’re fighting for points, the podium or even the world championship. I fought for the world championship five times in the last race. How can you think about the rules at that moment?”
“You just try to overtake or defend in such situations and remain fair. And you trust the other riders. That’s probably how we’ve always raced. “
