After the last Formula 1 British Grand Prix 2022, the Asturian driver was very convinced of having finished in fourth position, since despite crossing the checkered flag in fifth place, he expected a penalty of at least five seconds for one of the drivers who managed to finish just ahead.
Fighting for the podium in the final laps of the race at Silverstone, Charles Leclerc defended as best he could on well-worn tires against a Lewis Hamilton who had just mounted new softs, making moves that did not go unnoticed by Fernando Alonso, who was behind both.
A weekend earlier, the Spanish Alpine driver had received a five-second penalty for changing trajectory under braking during a defensive action to protect his position from Valtteri Bottas’ attack, so after seeing Leclerc make three similar moves , Alonso was confident of making the jump to fourth position after the penalty against the Monegasque.
However, this penalty did not come and the French team had to settle for that fifth place. Just four days later, in the run-up to the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, the man from Oviedo was upset by the fact that the actions of the Ferrari driver went unnoticed by the FIA stewards.
“I am surprised, we are all surprised. I think we will deal with this tomorrow in the [drivers’ briefing with the FIA].”
“Honestly, I saw the race on Monday and more than the straight moves, I saw the fight between Charles , Checo and Lewis , which was obviously fantastic for the fans. But earlier this year you weren’t allowed to go off track, I was very Of course, it was black or white, now it seems that he is allowed to go through the loophole again and then continue fighting”.
“So this is a completely different direction than what we’ve seen so far. I think it will be very, very interesting to clarify and understand this,” #14 added.
It is not the first time that Alonso has questioned the work of the FIA stewards this season, but on this occasion, the Alpine driver believes that there is no debate, since the rules have been clear since the first race of the course in Bahrain.
“Obviously, when you’re next to each other, you push him and force him off the track, you always know what’s going to happen, because we’ve been told repeatedly that the only thing that was very clear was that the limit is marked by the White line”.
“Other decisions of the stewards can be changing, but the track limits were very clear. I went off in Miami in a corner and according to them I got an advantage, and although I returned all the advantage [they sanctioned me]. But in actions like this, You clearly gain an advantage, because you get out and then you continue in the fight. So it’s clear. And there was no penalty. I’m very confused.”
Despite the changes in the leadership of the governing body of Formula 1, which led to important modifications in the Race Direction, it seems that the inconsistency of the sanctions continues to be a serious problem for the current F1 and, therefore, the most veteran driver of the grid, he will try to take advantage of his authority to find a clearer line for the rest of the course.
