Alonso escapes punishment for unsafe release
Alonso escapes punishment for unsafe release
Fernando Alonso has escaped punishment for allegedly being released by his Alpine team with his car in an unsafe condition following a pit stop at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard finished 10th despite starting at the rear of the field at the Red Bull Ring.
But the result could have been better but for a calamitous two laps where Alonso was forced to pit twice under virtual safety car conditions.
The incident that saw his wheel come loose put him under investigation but the two-time F1 champion was cleared of wrongdoing after a stewards' review.
"I pitted under the virtual safety car and we were headed to P6 because I was just behind Lando [Norris] with new tyres and it would have been easy to pass them and maybe finish behind Esteban [Ocon] in fifth and sixth," said Alonso.
"I felt huge vibrations on the tyres immediately after the first sector, so we decided to pit again. I exited P14 with nine laps to go and I recovered to P10."
FIA stewards' report in full
A lengthy stewards' explanation read: "Alonso made a pit stop at 16:12 during the VSC due to the incident at turn four.
"The left-front wheel subsequently came loose by a small margin and the stewards investigated to see if the car was 'released in an unsafe condition' which is a potential breach of Article 34.14 of the FIA Formula One sporting regulations.
"The stewards reviewed multiple angles of the video of the pit stop, including pit lane CCTV, CCTV from over the pit-stop location and in-car footage.
"There is nothing in the video to indicate that the pit stop was anything other than a normal pit stop, including that the wheel concerned appears to fully engage and become fully tight."
But explaining that everything appeared normal after reviewing footage and speaking to Alpine team members, the statement continued: "The team manager reported that the mechanic fitting the wheel reported that everything felt normal, and indeed his body language on the video appears completely normal.
"Nothing appears to be wrong until just before turn three, where the wheel slightly disengages from the car, by a very small amount.
"Shortly after turn three the driver states on the radio that they will need to box again. "When asked by the crew, the driver simply reported that they needed to box again.
"In the hearing, the driver stated that he cannot see the rim of the wheel and that all he felt was a small vibration. This is consistent with the video, in that the movement of the tyre was hardly distinguishable.
"After entering the pit lane, the driver stated 'check left front'. In the hearing, he stated that it felt worse when he turned to the right than when he turned to the left, but that there was still nothing obvious from his vantage point."
Continuing to reveal a parts failure, the report explained: "After the race, the left-front wheel with the tyre and the axel were inspected by the technical delegate and the head of single-seater technical affairs.
"They reported to the stewards that the damage to the wheel and axel is consistent with a parts failure, in all likelihood subsequent to the exit of the car from the pits.
"Based on the footage of the car from the moment the wheel was fitted, until the failure became apparent, the stewards conclude that the wheel was fully fitted, and that subsequent to the failure, all the retention systems worked as designed."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Hamilton dealt China blow after major FIA decision as Ricciardo given huge Horner warning - GPFans F1 Recap
- 3 hours ago
F1 team unveil star-studded lineup in China
- Yesterday 23:12
F1 Qualifying Today: Chinese Grand Prix 2024 start times, schedule and TV
- Yesterday 22:27
Horner delivers threat to Ricciardo over Red Bull pressure
- Yesterday 21:57
F1 Sprint Race Today: Chinese Grand Prix 2024 start times, schedule and TV
- Yesterday 21:27
Wolff left FUMING with Mercedes despite amazing Hamilton lap
- Yesterday 20:57
Related news
Norris reveals CHEEKY Alonso text after Austrian Grand Prix chaos
Newey reveals Red Bull could not stop Verstappen from taking POINTLESS risk
Russell insists Hamilton is still STRUGGLING with W14
How Austria track limits SHAMBLES shows FIA's flaws
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860