Inside this Saudi GP 2023, Fernando Alonso celebrated a special third place: with this he reached 100 podiums in his career in Formula 1. However, within minutes of the match ending, the Spaniard’s happiness turned to disappointment. F1 officials penalized him 10 seconds and he dropped to fourth.
However, a few hours later Alonso moved back to third behind the Aston Martin’s appeal against the sanction.
Sports news presents the sanction to the Asturian and how the result of the second race of 2023 came about.
Why was Fernando Alonso banned at the 2023 Saudi GP and missed the podium?
Every car has to respect its original box and Fernando Alonso didn’t. With no intention, the Spaniard spotted his Aston Martin to the left of the point, for which race officials gave him a 5-second penalty. This, the British team told him, would be fulfilled at the first pit stop.
🔥 The image of controversy.
🤔 Alonso stood to the left of the starting box and received a 5 second penalty. #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/Fnh24R1Ioh
– El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) March 19, 2023
his entrance safety car made Alonso take advantage of this moment to go change tires and comply with the penalty imposed. Everything went great: he Older brother he managed to hold on to second place and managed to hold George Russell (Mercedes) back.
Ultimately, after the scheduled 50 laps, the two-time world champion finished third behind Checo Pérez and Max Verstappen. But… things would not stay that way.
Mercedes complained that Aston Martin touched the car during the penalty (with the rear jack but without putting it to work) and Formula 1 agreed with him. This gave Alonso an extra 10 seconds, which caused him to lose his place to Russell. At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon, his former teammate Older brotherexperienced the same situation.
BREAKFAST: Fernando Alonso gets 10-minute penalty for wrong-footed penalty and loses podium in Jeddah
He drops to fourth, with George Russell moving up to third#SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/PWA3dM3wI4
—Formula 1 (@F1) March 19, 2023
Almost four hours later, F1 reported that Alonso was back in third place of the career. Aston Martin exercised their option to appeal the penalty and the British team was found to be right.
IMPORTANT: Fernando Alonso’s third place in Jeddah reinstated!#SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/afmhn9rh3B
—Formula 1 (@F1) March 19, 2023
The final standings of the Saudi GP 2023
| Position | Pilot | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Checo Perez (Red Bull) | – |
| 2 | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | +5,355 |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) | +20,728 |
| 4 | George Russell (Mercedes) | +25,866 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) | +31,065 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) | +35,876 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | +43.162 |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon (Alpine) | +52,832 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly (Alpine) | +54,747 |
| 10 | Kevin Magnussen (Haas) | +64,826 |
| eleven | Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) | +67,494 |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) | +70,588 |
| 13 | Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) | +76,060 |
| 14 | Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) | +77,478 |
| fifteen | Oscar Piastri (McLaren) | +85.021 |
| 16 | Logan Sargent (Williams) | +86.293 |
| 17 | Lando Norris (McLaren) | +86,445 |
| 18 | Valtteri Botas | +1 round |
- abandonments: Lance Stroll, mechanical failure (lap 14); Alex Albon, brake failure (lap 28)
