In Austin, Fernando Alonso finished seventh, but was then penalized and found himself outside the top ten. At a press conference in Mexico City, the Alpine F1 driver said he was optimistic and expected the fine to be lifted because the Haas team filed their protest too late.
Alonso stressed that immediately after the finish of the US Grand Prix he spoke to Lance Stroll, whose fault caused a dangerous incident on the 22nd lap of the race.
Fernando Alonso: “The conversation with Lance took place right after the finish. It started in the pits of the Aston Martin, then continued in the steward’s room, where we both had to go. My view of the incident has not changed since then: it was an unfortunate moment of the race, as we both turned left almost simultaneously.
Until the last moment I drove right behind his car, taking advantage of the slipstream. You can’t use DRS in the early laps after the restart, so I had to use the slipstream as aggressively as possible and shifted to the left at the very last minute. But so did Lance, who was trying to defend his position, and there was contact between the machines.
I find the fine that has been imposed on me unnecessarily heavy, but nothing can be done about it. But as for the protest that the Haas team filed after the finish, I suggest waiting for the decision of the FIA, today we have to find out. At the same time, I am optimistic and hope that my 7th place will be returned to us. In any case, I trust the FIA no matter what decision they make.
However, there are some completely wrong points, including that of the federation. If 7th place is not returned to me then the FIA will have to explain. But I am completely calm. Our team is not trying to protest against the FIA’s decision, but the fact is that Haas filed their protest too late. During the race I didn’t get to see the black and orange flag, which means it was thought it was safe to continue the race in my car.
After the finish she was in a closed park and she passed all inspections. There were no questions and only then did Haas protest, although it was too late. There is no doubt that the wrong decision was made, and this could set a very dangerous precedent. Then, during the race, 50-60 percent of the cars will have to be withdrawn from the race due to damaged aerodynamic elements.
It doesn’t matter if the protest was filed 20 minutes late, an hour late, or 10 years. This shouldn’t be allowed, so today is a very important day for Formula 1. I don’t care about 7th place because it’s not about the battle for the title. But if the penalty remains, a Pandora’s box will open and you don’t want that.”
Source: F1 News
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