Because of the penalty in Texas, a “front” opened up between Alonso and the FIA.

Let’s start at the beginning: At last Sunday’s Austin GP in Texas, USA, the right wing mirror of Fernando Alonso’s Alpine, which was broken in the Spaniard’s earlier collision with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, came loose.

After the race, Haas complained to the stewards in Austin that Alonso was not shown the black and orange sign during the race, which warns the driver not to return to the pits to repair any damage to the vehicle in the event of impending disqualification that is possible too dangerous to cause an accident.

Haas raised the same objection to Sergio Perez, who started in Texas with a broken front wing. The American team claimed that this flag had been shown to its driver Kevin Magnussen several times this year for similar issues, costing him several points.

The stewards ruled that Haas’ appeal was valid and gave Alonso a 10-second penalty – the most severe penalty prior to disqualification – which is equivalent to a 30-second penalty, including time in and out of the pits to correct the damage to repair.

The Spaniard thus dropped from 7th to 15th in the final standings, losing the 6 points he had gained by a stunning comeback after his particularly bad crash with Stroll. There was no penalty for Perez and Red Bull.

As if that were not enough, Alpine has appealed Haas’ original objection, arguing that the latter filed its objection on its own behalf. Stewards received the appeal from Haas 24 minutes after the checkered flag in Texas, but decided – as is their right – to waive the race code deadline in question.

Alpine’s appeal therefore focuses on Haas’ late filing of the appeal. The matter will then be discussed again between the FIA ​​race directors and the two teams when they meet next Thursday (27/10) at 18:00 (local time) as part of the Mexican GP.

Fernando Alonso considers Thursday’s FIA decision extremely important, as he wrote on Instagram: “Thank you for all the messages I received yesterday and today. This is one of those rare times in sport where I feel we are all on the same page and share the same views on the regulations.

Therefore Thursday is an important day for the sport we all love so much because the decision made will show if we are on the right track going forward. Thanks again for the support”wrote the 41-year-old Alpine driver.