13/05/2022
NEWS STORY
Alpine boss, Laurent Rossi has questioned the second time penalty meted out to Fernando Alonso on Sunday which was to cost the Spaniard a point-scoring finish.
Though he finished ninth on the road, Alonso, who had previously been given a 5s time penalty for causing a collision with Pierre Gasly, was given a second for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
On Lap 53, the Alpine driver had cut the Turn 14 chicane which in the process increased the gap to the pursuing Haas of Mick Schumacher, thereby putting the Spaniard out of DRS range.
Having reviewed the video and GPS data evidence the stewards deemed that Alonso had gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track and thereby handed him a second 5s penalty which dropped him to 11th.
Taking to social media today, Alpine boss, Laurent Rossi was critical of the decision and also the lack of safety measure where Alonso's teammate, Esteban Ocon had hit the wall in final practice.
“The Miami Grand Prix weekend did not disappoint and it was great to experience a new event with such a vibrant atmosphere," he tweeted. "It was equally pleasing to put on a race to match the anticipation and, from a team perspective, it was satisfying to have both of our cars crossing the finish line inside the top ten after a compromised qualifying for varying reasons.
"These scenarios ultimately shaped our weekend," he added "Esteban unfortunately missed qualifying, although with sufficient safety measures in place, it is likely the car would have been okay, while Fernando caught traffic on a fast lap.
"Furthermore, a disappointing post-race penalty for Fernando for leaving the track and gaining an advantage means our six points at the chequered flag turned into four points and it has cost us a deserved double points finish.
"This one is certainly difficult to accept since Fernando handed back the time during the lap and we were not able to present the evidence to clarify the particular situation before the penalty was issued.
"With the opportunity to explain, we’re very confident Fernando would have kept his ninth place.
"We’ll go again next weekend in Spain where we’re determined to piece together a much slicker and, a more fair, race weekend and demonstrate the real potential of our package.”
The penalty meant that Alonso left Miami empty handed with just two points after five races.