Aston Martin has been fined €50,000 after both its drivers missed Friday's Fan Engagement activity.

The stewards received a report from the Media Delegate that Fernado Alonso and Lance Stroll did not attend the event.

Team representatives and the drivers told the stewards that they were advised that because they were not required for driving duties during FP1, they would not be required at the event and that instead the reserve drivers would represent the team and attend.

Whilst acknowledging the obligation to appear is sometimes inconvenient to drivers especially in cases such as this where there was a 5 hour period between the Fan Engagement and FP2, the stewards also acknowledged that fans are the core of the sport and the importance of this is recognised by the FIA through the inclusion of Article 19 in its Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.

In particular the stewards noted the submission from Formula 1 contained in the report from the FIA Media Delegate, that many fans had waited for several hours in the heat, to see the drivers.

Accordingly, the non-appearance was the result of a failure by Aston Martin, and therefore a significant fine was imposed, with the recommendation that the proceeds be allocated, at the FIA's discretion, to the encouragement of fans in the region to become involved in motorsport as officials or by engaging in grassroots motorsport activities.

The stewards however, considered and accepted Aston Martin's proposal to attend the fan zone this weekend and give signed team caps to all fans wearing Aston Martin apparel and to select two fans for a garage tour, view a session from the garage and meet both drivers for a photo opportunity. The stewards required a report from the competitor, verifying that the proposal has been implemented.

Fined €25,000 for each breach, €50,000 in total) in view of the above, the stewards opted to suspend the majority (€15,000/€30,000) of the penalty for a period of 12 months from today's date subject to there being no further breaches of any part of Article 19 during that period.