Fernando Alonso PRAISES FIA decision-making despite 'blame' admission

Alonso in aanloop naar race in Canada — Photo: © LAT Images

Fernando Alonso

Alonso PRAISES FIA decision-making despite 'blame' admission

The two-time world champion is pleased with the way they have dealt with issues in recent races

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 12 September 2023 18:57

Fernando Alonso has praised the way the FIA have acted in recent races, insisting that it is important not just to lay 'blame', but also to point out when things go well.

The FIA – the governing body for Formula 1 – have come in for quite a lot of criticism in recent years from drivers for not only bringing in strict rules, but also regarding driver safety on the track.

Yet Alonso has now said that, in the same way drivers react when they get it wrong, they should also appreciate when the FIA get it right.

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"The FIA did good again," he told media after the Italian GP.

"Because we always blame the FIA when they do things wrong. In Zandvoort, it was good timing on the safety cars, red flags, things like that.

"And here [Monza] after the F3 cars, F2, our free practice, they implemented the [maximum] time as a few years ago and I think it worked well in qualifying.

"There was still some traffic issues but much less than without any rules. So, as I said, sometimes they do good things, we have to say that as well.”

F1's track limit rules

Drivers must keep at least one of their wheels inside the white line, or face lap time deletion

One contentious issue throughout this season has been the strict track limits rules that have seen lap times deleted in practice and qualifying for many races in 2023, including at Monza last time out.

We have also seen on race days drivers being warned time and time again that they can't run wide on certain corners, before they are shown a black and white flag, a final warning before a penalty.

At the Italian GP, Alonso qualified tenth on the grid, but did lose his first flying lap in Q1 for a track limits violation, which meant he had a bit of a sweat on to make it through to the next session.

“It is always the same rule,” Alonso said.

“You cannot change the rules weekend-to-weekend. It’s always the white line. I ran wide a little bit there, so I’ll take it, it was okay."