"It was very unfair" - Fernando Alonso claims 'incompetence' from FIA stewards over Miami penalty

Fernando Alonso has described the race stewards from the Miami Grand Prix as incompetent for handing him a post-race five-second penalty that the Spaniard believes was "very unfair." Despite finishing the inaugural event in P9, the Alpine driver was given a penalty for causing a collision with Pierre Gasly early on in the race, which ultimately pushed him outside the points.

In the drivers' press conference ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, Alonso shared his discontent with the decisions made by the race directors, saying:

“We believe it was very unfair and it was just incompetence from the stewards. They were not very professional. I missed one corner and then I gave back the time, but after you miss one corner there is the sector time just after that corner. They saw the pink colour [a fastest sector on the timing screen] so they took the decision without asking for any proof.”

Fernando Alonso further went on to add, saying:

“We arrived after the race with all the proof of giving the time back and they were just packing up, they were not even in the room. We went there, we showed them all the data, they found themselves with their hands tied because they issued already the penalty and didn’t know how to get back from that document. It was very bad. It’s already the past, but it is something that should not happen in Formula 1 with the professionalism and the standards Formula 1 has right now.”

This year, former race director Michael Masi has been replaced by Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas, who made the said decision last race weekend.

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Fernando Alonso says Lewis Hamilton's struggles remind him of the car's role in F1

Fernando Alonso recently claimed that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton's struggles this season are proof that the car plays a significant role in a team and driver's success.

Comparing his journey to that of the Briton, the two-time world champion told BBC Sport:

“This is a team sport more than anything and we tend to forget this, especially when we have success. We are so happy for what we are achieving that even if we try to share with the team, all the headlines are for the driver. It happened to me when I won the two championships [in 2005 and 2006 with Renault]. I was beating Michael Schumacher. This was a big topic, but my car was more reliable at that time and had very good performance and you cannot praise enough that package because the headlines will still be the driver. And with Lewis [Hamilton] it’s the same.”

Sympathizing with Hamilton, the Spaniard said:

“To have more than 100 pole positions in F1 is something unthinkable. You need to have the best car and package for many, many years. We were doing magic laps sometimes and we were P15, and how do you explain that to people? It will be impossible. He deserves everything he’s achieved in the past but this year is a good reminder that in all those records and numbers there is a big part on what you have in your hands as a package in the car.”

Fernando Alonso, who retired from the sport back in 2018, returned to drive for Alpine last season and took his first podium in seven years at the Qatar GP.