Raikkonen overtook Fernando Alonso off the track at the United States Grand Prix. Despite the fact that the Spaniard requested by radio that the position be returned ” quickly “, the FIA did not consider it appropriate to review what happened between the two. Yes he did when shortly afterwards Alonso overtook Antonio Giovinazzi on the outside. Even so, the Spaniard did not wait for the FIA to rule on the matter and sportily returned the Alfa Romeo driver to the position. Giovinazzi also did the same with Fernando Alonso when later they were involved in a similar situation. It would have been the last straw if it hadn’t been like that, although the Oviedo’s anger with the FIA came from afar. Austin only added to it.
That is why Alonso wanted to explain after the race why he passed Antonio Giovinazzi irregularly. “ I wasn’t trying to prove anything to the FIA by overtaking Giovinazzi , but what happened with Kimi felt a bit strange. All I wanted to do was make up positions, tenth place was the real goal, we tried. We always respect what the FIA says ”, he assured.
“When I passed Antonio I braked very late and didn’t get to the corner. When the team told me to return the position, I understood it and saw it logical , it was what had to be done. I brake very late and you never brake that late if there is a wall there, so I stopped and let him pass. I lost three seconds at that moment but I understood the decision, ”added Fernando Alonso. “ Then the same thing happened with Giovinazzi and he was forced to let me pass . In the end we both returned to our original position ”, he declared.
Despite his anger, Fernando Alonso refused to ask the FIA for an explanation, something he also explained after the United States Grand Prix. “Needless. We come to America to put on a good show and open Formula 1 to this country and we have not given a good image . I think Kimi passed me on the outside in 1. I passed Giovinazzi on the outside and I had to return the position, of course. Giovinazzi passed me on the outside in the last advance he made and had to return my position, of course. Three overtaking exactly the same, two were one way and one another . I lost ten seconds with what would have been ninth, “he said.
The FIA understands Alonso’s anger
Michael Masi has also spoken about it. “ I can understand your frustration . I haven’t heard it, but I can understand it. The decision in relation to him and Kimi in Turn 1 was clearly secondary and it is something that we are going to talk about at the next drivers’ meeting with all the drivers, ”stated the FIA race director.
“I think there were two parts to the story , obviously the overtaking, the part of forcing the car to leave the track and then the subsequent overtaking element. It is something we are all going to talk about at the next meeting, ”he insisted.
And, according to Michael Masi, if Kimi Raikkonen overtook Fernando Alonso on the outside, it is because he forced the Finn off the track. ” Correct. You have hit the nail. That is why it was a marginal decision ”, he acknowledged
“Obviously they looked at two elements and it was determined on that basis. In a secondary way they made the decision ‘ let’s leave it as it is ‘, but there is no doubt that it will be discussed at the next drivers’ meeting ”, he added. “ It was slightly ironic that that happened. Everyone could see how ironic the situation was, ”concluded the FIA race director.
It was precisely Michael Masi that Fernando Alonso pointed out for a similar incident after the Austrian Grand Prix. “Nothing can be done. The level is set by the Race Director . If a defender touches the ball outside the area, the next game we all do it. The rule is very clear . We have to apply it. If in soccer you touch the ball with your hand inside the area, it is a penalty. There is no clarification of the rule. You have to make the decision and say that it is a penalty. We do not need to modify the norm, we need to apply them when something happens ”, he declared.
Sochi’s anger
Although Fernando Alonso put the debate on the table, it did not start until he overtook off the track at the Russian Grand Prix. “ There are different rules depending on the driver or different ways of talking about situations for people. It will be necessary to see who is the next to cross the white line when entering the pits, where they are from and the penalty that is carried for it. This is just to confirm that when I do some different things, they have a different impact. For most of the World Championship, I was the idiot who got passed off the track in the first two corners . It happened to me in the first two races and also in Austria, and then nobody said anything, ”he said then.
“ At that time there was not a single question about what happened and now after Sochi there is a question , so it is a confirmation. Perhaps now they will change what can and cannot be done in the first two exit corners ”, he added, annoyed with the FIA.
Fernando Alonso also wanted to allude to this after what happened at the United States Grand Prix. “ I suppose that in Mexico they will ask everyone what happened in the first corner , why did they all go outside. I did it in Sochi and there was a drama already in Turkey . I hope they ask many questions in Mexico to whoever did it this time ”, was his last message.
What the FIA will talk about in Mexico is the incident between Alonso and Raikkonen . And, perhaps, he will modify what can be done again and not to the greater anger of the Asturian.
