The final of the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia moved Fernando Alonso from one state to another. After celebrating his 100th career podium, the F1 veteran learned he had been penalized and dropped to fourth, but the decision was eventually overturned after Aston Martin appealed.

Fernando AlonsoPhoto: BARNI Cristiano/ATP/SPP/Shutterstock Editorial/Profimedia

>> Formula 1: RedBull double in Saudi Arabia – world champion, impressive comeback

The Pyrenean was initially penalized 5 seconds for incorrect grid placement and served his penalty on lap 18 when he pitted for a tire change.

After celebrating on the podium with Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, Alonso learned that he would be penalized for a further 10 seconds and dropped to 4th place. The stewards believed that Fernando had not carried out his penalty correctly as the mechanic in charge of the jack touched the rear car before the end 5 seconds.

Aston Martin appealed after the Jeddah race and the FIA ​​overturned its decision after reviewing the video evidence. The commissioners recognized that touching the machine in any way, even with a jack, cannot be considered mechanical intervention.

“In support of our request, we have added video evidence of 7 more similar situations when mechanics touched cars during penalty periods and fines were not assigned,” the message reads. appeal filed by Aston Martin.

“After reviewing the footage and hearing the position of Aston Martin and the relevant FIA members, we have concluded that the original penalty decision should be changed and have acted accordingly,” it said in a statement. press release from the official F1 website.

Fernando Alonso criticized the FIA ​​after the Saudi MP

Fernando Alonso (41) commented on the situation before the FIA ​​announced the decision to overturn his punishment. The Spaniard said that if he had known earlier, he would have been able to get third place even with a 10-second penalty (the difference between him and George Russell was about 6.2 seconds).

“If it’s disappointing? no But they did it all wrong. This is below FIA standards. When you have 35 laps to report a penalty and you wait until after the podium something is wrong with the system. But it is, and I feel sorry for the fans. I really had a great time on the podium, taking the cup, taking pictures and celebrating with champagne. Having 15 or 12 points doesn’t really change me, but it’s sad. We must have common sense, we must not invent anything new.

I should review the incident at the beginning, but I think I was too far to the left. It’s my fault, I’ll have to pay more attention. It’s quite strange that in two races we had similar problems with two cars, Esteban (Ocon, Bahrain) and me here. But I was told I had a five second penalty and I put seven seconds between me and Russell. If someone had told me I had a 10 second penalty, I would have pushed harder at the end and gone over 10 seconds.

This is unfair to George and the Mercedes sponsors who would like to be on the podium. This is not fair to George at all. If he was third in the race, he should be enjoying the podium, not me. I feel sorry for this, George, his fans and sponsors Mercedes. We need to get a good handle on this. But it’s a bit strange. For me, the main thing is that the car is strong” – Fernando Alonsoquoted by AS.com.

Pilot rating of the MP from Saudi Arabia

1 Max Verstappen – RedBull 44 points

2 Sergio Perez – RedBull 43

3 Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin 30

4. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari 20

5 Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes 20

6 George Russell – Mercedes 18

7 Lance Stroll – Aston Martin 8

8 Charles Leclerc – Ferrari 6

9 Pierre Gasly – Alpine 4

10 Esteban Ocon – Alpine 4

11 Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo 4

12 Kevin Magnussen – HAAS 1

13 Alexander Albon – Williams 1

14 Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri 0

15 Nico Hulkenberg – HAAS 0

16 Logan Sargent – Williams 0

17 Zhou Guanyu – Aston Martin 0

18 Nick De Vries – AlphaTauri 0

19 Oscar Piastri – McLaren 0

20 Lando Norris – McLaren 0

Rating of builders

1 RedBull 87 points

2 Aston Martin 38s

3 Mercedes 38

4 Ferrari 26s

5 Alpine 8

6 Alfa Romeo 4

7 HAAS 1

8 Williams 1

9 Alpha Tauri 0

10 McLaren 0.

Formula 1 season calendar for 2023

March 5: Bahrain – victory for Max Verstappen

March 19: Saudi Arabia – Reverend Sergio Perez

April 2: Australia / Melbourne

April 16: China / Shanghai

April 30: Azerbaijan / Baku

May 7: Miami

May 21: Emilia-Romagna / Imola

May 28: Monaco

June 4: Spain / Barcelona

June 18: Canada / Montreal

July 2: Austria / Spielberg

July 9: Great Britain / Silverstone

July 23: Hungary / Budapest

July 30: Belgium / Spa-Francorchamps

August 27: Netherlands / Zandvoort

September 3: Italy / Monza

September 17: Singapore / Marina Bay

September 24: Japan / Suzuka

October 8: Qatar / Losail

October 22: USA / Austin

October 29: Mexico / Mexico City

November 5: Brazil / Sao Paulo

November 18: Las Vegas

November 26: Abu Dhabi / Yas Marina.