After the Miami Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso was handed a second five-second penalty, dropping him out of the top ten in the final race classification and the points.
On lap 40, the Alpine driver was engaged in a number of crashes and was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision with ALphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly coming into turn 1.
The FIA race stewards determined that “vehicle 14 [Alonso] was not entitled to acquire racing room” from Gasly, according to the official statement.
“In order for an automobile being overtaken to be required to offer sufficient room to an overtaking car, the overtaking car must have a considerable portion of the car alongside the car being overtaken,” according to new guidance for 2022.
The rules and regulations are also clear that: “the overtaking manoeuvre must be done in a safe and controlled manner, while enabling the car to clearly remain within the limits of the track.”
After the race, Alonso expressed his regret by apologising to Gasly for the collision.
“I had a slow pitstop, I lost like four seconds there, so I had to recover that time with Gasly,” he explained ot the media in the paddock.
“Eventually I closed the gap and I was very optimistic on the move with him.
“I touched with Gasly again and I had the penalty – five seconds – which I deserve. It was my mistake, I braked too late,” he admitted.
“We were ready to give back the position, but he pitted at that time so I have to pay those five seconds.”
This penalty was applied to the finish line results, putting Alonso in ninth place. Alpine instructed Esteban Ocon to slow down the vehicles behind him in order to prevent an extra five seconds of damage.
However, the stewards also noticed a second incident in which Alonso gained an advantage by leaving the track at turn 14 and then failing to return it before the race’s completion.
As a result, Alonso drops to 11th in the standings, while Williams’ Alex Albon moves up to ninth, gaining double the number of points he expected after the race.
Daniel Ricciardo could have moved up into the top ten after Fernando Alonso’s penalty, but the McLaren driver was also given a five-second penalty for a similar offence, dropping him to 13th. As a result, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin dropped to tenth place, costing the team a single point for the weekend.
Alonso sits in 11th place behind Ricciardo, with Yuki Tsunoda in 12th place behind him after crossing the finish line in 13th.
In a long night for the stewards and Alonso, the former champion was probed for a third time – this time for leaving the track again at turn 14 four minutes later – but was found not guilty this time. For bumping Gasly and the first leaving the track incident, Alonso received two penalty points on his superlicense. This brings his year-to-date total to five.
A late collision between Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel at turn 1 also received no additional action from the officials.
