The Spaniard was defiant, though, and claimed that if he had known about the fine, he would have pulled ahead of the car in back by 11 seconds.
Follow Us
Fernando Alonso had a dramatic day despite believing he had achieved his 100th career podium finish when he placed third on Sunday at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. His joy, however, was short-lived as the stewards assessed the Spaniard a 10-second time penalty following the conclusion of the race. Alonso disagreed with the FIA’s ruling, claiming that the officials had ample opportunity to notify his team of the ruling before the race ended. The Spaniard was defiant, though, and claimed that if he had known about the fine, he would have pulled ahead of the car in back by 11 seconds. George Russell thus celebrated his first podium finish in 2023.
The Spaniard was initially given a five-second time penalty for the wrong grid position. He then entered the pits beneath the safety car to replace his tyres and complete the required time. But before the allotted time had passed, the Aston Martin mechanic using the rear jack came into contact with Alonso’s vehicle. The Spaniard was assessed a 10-second time penalty as a result, and was informed of the ruling after sharing the podium with Sergio Perez, who won the race, and Max Verstappen, who finished in second.
Russell was eventually awarded P3 but the Brit said the decision was a harsh one. “I think it was very harsh what happened to Fernando in all honesty,” said Russell. “I feel like some of these penalties have been a little bit too extreme what we have seen this weekend. Nevertheless, I am happy to pick up the silverware.”
“It doesn’t hurt too much to be honest,” Alonso said as per Sky Sports. “I was on the podium, I did pictures, I took the trophy, I celebrated and now I have apparently three points less. I don’t have 15, I have 12. You cannot apply a penalty 35 laps after the pit stop. hey had enough time to inform about the penalty. If I knew that, maybe then I open up 11 seconds to the car behind.”
“Today, we didn’t put on a good show for our fans,” the Spaniard added. “I know the team is trying to review it with the stewards now because we didn’t understand fully the second penalty. I care, but I don’t care that much as I have celebrated and now I have three points less? OK, let’s try and recover in Australia.”
Sergio Perez has emerged as the biggest threat to his teammate Max Verstappen’s title defence after he won the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP on Sunday. Perez finished P1, followed by his teammate to make it a second successive 1-2 finish for Red Bull, firmly strengthening their grasp on the constructor’s championship title after just two races. Things however might get a bit feisty between Perez and Verstappen, who are separted by just a single point in the drivers’ championship.
“No, I did enjoy the race to be honest. I enjoyed it a lot, especially at the end, just pushing each other with the lap times knowing that he went a tenth faster, tenth slower, tenth slower, and it was all pretty intense. Then we were told to maintain a certain pace, then I was told again to push then to maintain the pace – so it was just a bit all over the place,” said the race winner.
