This matter became one of the talking points in Azerbaijan, after Fernando Alonso went off track towards the end of Q1, causing a yellow flag and ruining the laps of anyone behind who might have had the chance to beat the Alpine rider’s time.
Alex Albon, who was immediately behind the Asturian, made it clear that he thought Alonso had gone off track in a deliberate attempt to frustrate his rivals.
That incident is nothing new, especially on street circuits, and it already made headlines at the 2006 Monaco GP .
On that occasion, Michael Schumacher was excluded from qualifying after the stewards determined that he had deliberately stopped on track, at La Rascasse , ending the session early and securing pole position.
A similar incident occurred at the same venue in 2014, when Nico Rosberg went through the Mirabeau run-off, foiling team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s final effort. The German was investigated, but escaped being sanctioned.
Following qualifying for this year’s race, Max Verstappen suggested that penalties should be handed down to red-flaggers, after missing his final lap of Q3 for the second year in a row due to an accident of his own.
Although there is no official documentation associated with his investigation, it has become known that the FIA stewards carried out an informal investigation of the Alonso incident last weekend, since the Spaniard and the Alpine sporting director, Alan Permane , They were seen leaving Baku race control on Sunday morning. Team boss Otmar Szafnauer also stopped by.
Although the stewards took no action, their suspicions were clear enough to start a discussion about a possible solution to the problem.
The F1 Sporting Regulations already contain an article that can be applied to anyone who takes a runaway or enters an off-track area, which reads: “Drivers must make every reasonable effort to use the track in at all times and they cannot get out of it without a justified reason.
Appendix L of the FIA International Sporting Code , which applies to driving conduct, contains a similar clause: “Drivers must use the track at all times and may not leave the track without just cause.”
The stewards have the option of erasing any or all lap times, if they consider that a driver has committed an offense that falls within that description.
If an agreement is reached between FIA stewards and F1 race directors that following this course would prevent the kind of maneuver Alonso is suspected of, drivers could be warned of possible penalties as early as the GP. of Canada, either in the race director’s event notes or at the regular Friday briefing.
The imposition of penalties for a real crash ending a session early, such as those involving Charles Leclerc in Monaco in 2021 and Sergio Perez this year, would probably require further discussion.
Asked by Motorsport.com about the possibility of the FIA taking action against controversial flag situations in qualifying, Alonso showed his support for the initiative.
“Yes, I think so,” he said. “There are always going to be difficulties, like now in the [Baku] race, if you crash in a corner or if you park [the car] – there was a [Kevin Magnussen’s] Haas parked at Turn 15.
“If you park there or you park 10 meters after that, maybe you’ll have a safety car, depending on whether you get a good position or not. And then we’re going to penalize the Haas driver because he made the wrong choice?”
“So we have to be careful how we come in and how we do those things. But yeah, I agree. Especially qualifying should be different.
“We’re dealing with issues of slow laps, minimum time to respect, last corner traffic, slipstream, lack of slipstream. So I think we should be smart and think about another format in qualifying.”
Lando Norris, who was involved in a flag incident in Baku, also supported the idea.
“Yes, of course,” he said when asked by Motorsport.com if he was okay with a possible restriction. “I think I was one of those who caused the yellow this Saturday, but only to get out of the way of Seb [Vettel].”
“I think there’s a difference between people who do it accidentally, and people who do it so they don’t cause blue flags and things like that when you’re in qualifying, versus people who obviously do it on purpose. Especially when you’re a second and a half on a fast lap.
“You always say that until you’re the one doing something wrong. And then you say ‘I wish that rule hadn’t been introduced’, because you just made a simple mistake, like when I spun at Imola.”
“I guess I’d say I wish there wasn’t a rule, but obviously when someone does it you say you wish there was a rule. It’s always someone’s turn at some point. Of course, the people who talk about it the most are the ones who haven’t yet.” He has made no mistake.”
Norris’ teammate Daniel Ricciardo also agreed that a drastic measure would be a good thing.
“It’s tough, because every incident is probably going to be a little bit different,” said the Australian.
“But unless you’ve completely wrecked your car, if it’s a little crash or runaway or something, then I feel like, if you’ve caused something, then maybe we should consider getting penalized or something for it. Maybe a while.” eliminated might be a good way to look at it.”
Asked about Alonso’s self-declaration of innocence after the Q1 incident in Baku, Ricciardo added: “His conviction is impressive! I mean, it’s the experience. That’s why I love him. But I want to say that obviously Alex [Albon ] talked about it yesterday.”
“We all know, we’re all kind of doing tricks, and I know Lewis tried not to give us DRS I think, with Lando. I mean, that’s a bit of a tactic and a bit of strategy. But then there’s the other way, obviously what Fernando did. Maybe the deleted laps could be the way to go, we’ll see.”
Alonso’s teammate Esteban Ocon also supported the idea of penalties, but with a caveat.
“I think so, because in Monaco and Baku I suffered from that in qualifying,” he said. “And, yes, people would probably be more careful if they get penalized, and it would be less easy to take a chance and go for the loophole. I would definitely be in favor of changing that for street circuits.”
