Fernando Alonso is eagerly awaiting the outcome in Alpine’s protest against Haas and insists that everyone should actually be in agreement
Fernando Alonso believes the decision of the FIA Formula One stewards on his Alpine team’s protest after the US Grand Prix will set the “direction” in which the sport will move
The Alpine driver was handed a 30-second penalty after the race in Austin as FIA stewards deemed his car was in an unsafe condition during the race after rival Haas team lodged a protest.
Alonso was involved in a scary crash with Aston Martin rival Lance Stroll early on, with the Alpine flying through the air before touching the left-hand barrier of the back straight after being sent airborne by the Aston Martin’s left rear wheel.
What the Alpine protest against Haas is about
Despite the impact, Alonso was able to return to the pits and finish the race in seventh place. However, having lost a mirror that had come loose in the aftermath of the accident, the race stewards imposed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty on Alonso, which added 30 seconds to his final time.
The penalty dropped the Spaniard from seventh to 15th place. Alpine announced after the decision that it would protest the admissibility of Haas’ protest, which was lodged 24 minutes after the protest deadline.
Despite the missed deadline, the stewards accepted Haas’ protest. In their decision, the stewards also criticised F1 race management for not showing Alonso the black and orange flag when the Spaniard’s mirror came off.
Decision on Thursday in Mexico
On his Instagram account on Monday night, Alonso wrote that the support he had received showed that the majority of people felt Alpine was in the right.
“It’s one of those rare moments in sport when I feel we are all on the same page and have the same opinion on rules and regulations,” the two-time world champion wrote.
The FIA announced on Monday evening that Alpine’s appeal will be heard at 6pm on Thursday in Mexico ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix. Alonso says the decision will show whether Formula One is moving in the “right direction. “
“It’s an important day for the sport because this decision will show if we are moving in the right direction,” the Spaniard said. Formula One’s race management has already been in the spotlight in the last half of the season after some questionable decisions at the Japanese Grand Prix.
After the race in Suzuka, where a crane was let onto the track while some cars were still running at high speed, the FIA launched an investigation that led to some changes in their working methods.
After the Japanese Grand Prix, the FIA also announced the decision to have only one race director instead of two, as was otherwise the case in 2022.
