Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso has been demoted for being found to have not served his five-second penalty correctly during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Despite contact with the rear of his car appearing to be minimal, a strict enforcement of the rule has come into place from the FIA and a 10-second penalty was applied, dropping Alonso down a place and putting him back down to 99 career podiums in Formula 1. The Spaniard had already been penalised for lining up in his grid slot incorrectly at the start, his Aston Martin being parked too far to the left and the stewards responding by forcing the Aston Martin driver to wait in his pit box for five seconds before his car could be worked on at his first stop. Fernando Alonso has been demoted from the podium by the FIA stewards for being found to have not served his five-second penalty correctly during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, being given a further 10-second penalty after one of his mechanics made contact with his car before the five seconds had elapsed in the pit lane.

Aston Martin pit crew found to have broken rules after podium ceremony.

Today we didn’t put on a good show for the fans.” You cannot apply a penalty 35 laps after the pit stop. [Sergio Perez](/sport/formula-one/sergio-perez-saudi-arabian-grand-prix-max-verstappen-b1068407.html) and [Max Verstappen](/topic/max-verstappen).

Fernando Alonso has lost his 100th Formula 1 podium, having been assessed a penalty by the FIA stewards after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

“I think now the discussion is around the jack touching car or not,” Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack confirmed later on. Russell’s newfound podium finish is his 10th in Formula 1 and opens Mercedes’ account for the season in terms of silverware amid what has been a disheartening start to life with its W14 car – which the team has already confirmed that it will be revising massively, feeling it got the concept of the car wrong. It is not yet exactly clear what the pitstop infringement was, though – with crew members not allowed to touch the car during the serving of the time penalty – the rear jack did appear to touch Alonso’s AMR23 before the penalty had been properly served.

The Spanish driver was handed a five-second penalty at the beginning of the race due to being misplaced in his grid box, which he served during a pitstop.

Fernando Alonso lost P3 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a simple error.

If the jack is in place and touching it was in breach." He explained: "The (rear jack) was touching the back of the car. The 25-year-old appeared to have missed out after he crossed the line just over five seconds behind but benefitted when the eventual 10-second sanction was confirmed. News of a possible penalty emerged ahead of the chequered flag with Aston Martin mechanics urging Alonso to pull out a five-second gap. Damon Hill commented: "It is a shame but you have to be consistent. Viewing footage of the incident, Martin Brundle predicted that Alonso was likely to be punished before it was confirmed.

Fernando Alonso may have celebrated his 100th rostrum appearance in F1 at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – but the joy was short-lived, ...

Fernando Alonso may have celebrated his 100th rostrum appearance in F1 at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – but the joy was short-lived, after the stewards handed him a 10-second penalty after the race that dropped him to P4. [stunning launch](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.race-start-alonso-pinches-the-lead-from-pole-sitter-perez-as-the-saudi.Ejca9YDdgebxPEujCuE73.html) from second on the grid to pass pole-sitter and eventual race winner Sergio Perez into Turn 1. Well, let F1 TV presenter Alex Brundle explain all…

Fernando Alonso has hit out at the FIA after a post-race 10-second time penalty demoted him from third to fourth at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

So I cannot really say at the moment where this is going to go," Krack told Sky Sports F1. "I was on the podium, I did pictures, I took the trophy, I celebrated and now I have apparently three points less. "They had enough time to inform about the penalty. OK, let's try and recover in Australia." [Stream the biggest moments on NOW](https://www.nowtv.com/promo/sky-sports?dcmp=articlelink) Even though the incident happened on the 19th lap, Alonso was only handed the penalty after the race and celebrations had been completed, prompting him to call the decision a "poor show" from the FIA.

Alonso took his place on the podium before being hit with a second time penalty of the day in Jeddah.

I care but I don’t care that much - I celebrated but I have three points less.” “You cannot apply a penalty 35 laps after the pit stop. I don’t understand fully the second penalty.

George Russell was able to claim a podium spot at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon after Fernando Alonso was relegated with a time penalty ...

The Dutchman was seemingly given a huge helping hand by a safety car, which allowed Verstappen to pit. But the call was changed again hours later. The 41-year-old thought he had served it when he made his pit stop, but footage showed the rear jack was in contact with the car before the five seconds had passed.

Fernando Alonso was left unhappy with the FIA after a post-race penalty cost him a landmark podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

I think Fernando’s penalty was harsh. ‘I wanted us to manage our tyres, stay in striking distance and then have a fair battle. ‘I was good and it doesn’t hurt too much to be honest. ‘I know the team is trying to review it with the stewards now because we didn’t understand fully the second penalty. OK, let’s try and recover in Australia.’ ‘I think it is more FIA, poor show today.

Fernando Alonso has been reinstated to third position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to cap a farcical couple of hours which followed the podium ceremony.

"This topic will therefore be addressed at the next Sporting Advisory Committee taking place on Thursday, 23 March, and a clarification will be issued ahead of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. An FIA statement said: "The request to the Stewards for review of the initial decision (Document 51) was made in the last lap of the race. The subsequent decision of the stewards to hear and grant the Right of Review by the Competitor was the result of new evidence regarding the definition of 'working on the car', for which there were conflicting precedents, and this has been exposed by this specific circumstance.

Fernando Alonso accused Formula One's governing body of lacking common sense after he was stripped of his 100th career podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand ...

“The penalty on Fernando was harsh,” he said. “I feel sorry for the fans. “Today is not good for the fans,” he said.

Alonso was stripped of third place after the race accused of not serving a penalty properly but, after a review, the decision has been overturned and he is ...

We therefore proceeded to hear the substance of the request for review. But a report on the last lap provided new TV evidence that the rear jack may have touched the car, which the FIA said constituted working on the car. But minutes later, another document was published showing that Aston Martin had appealed the decision. The stewards did not examine the matter further thereafter." Seconds after Alonso tweeted to celebrate the podium, the governing body released an official document in which it appeared to double down on the penalty. After discussions behind the scenes, Alonso's 10-second penalty has been rescinded and the 41-year-old has his 100th career [Formula 1](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/) podium after all.

Fernando Alonso is reinstated to third place in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after stewards overturn their earlier decision to demote him.

It's good that there is a rule in place, but at the same time, sometimes it's like luck, to be honest, where you position yourself." Perez said: "I just overdid it and I stopped too early, but you have no idea when you are in the car. But a 10-second is too extreme in that case again." "At the end of the day, we've got to stick within the guidelines. It is a bit sad for the FIA." Alonso added: "Today is not good for the fans.

Fernando Alonso hit out at the FIA after a post-race 10-second time penalty temporarily demoted him from third to fourth at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, ...

Alonso was extremely critical of the sport's governing body, telling Sky Sports F1 after the race: "I was on the podium, I did pictures, I took the trophy, I celebrated and now I have apparently three points less. "Today, we didn't put on a good show for our fans. They had enough time to inform about the penalty. No advantage came from it." You cannot apply a penalty 35 laps after the pit stop. [Stream the biggest moments on NOW](https://www.nowtv.com/promo/sky-sports?dcmp=articlelink)

Fernando Alonso accused Formula One's governing body of lacking common sense after he was stripped of his 100th career podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand ...

“The penalty on Fernando was harsh,” he said. “I feel sorry for the fans. “Today is not good for the fans,” he said.

Fernando Alonso won the 100th podium of his Formula One career at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday, but the result was only confirmed hours after the ...

The result leaves Alonso third in the driver standings on 30 points behind Verstappen and Perez. “I am happy in the end with the result tonight and our second podium,” said Alonso. [said](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.fia-to-issue-rule-clarification-ahead-of-australian-grand-prix-after-alonso.5FUrjmGaw3vY9vQ3tX3zmP.html) that a request to review the 10-second penalty was made in the final lap of the race and that the definition of “working on the car” will be clarified ahead of the Australian Grand Prix next month. “I was on the podium, I did pictures, I took the trophy, I celebrated with champagne and now I have apparently three points less – I don’t have 15, I have 12,” Alonso [Fernando Alonso](http://www.cnn.com/2023/03/02/motorsport/fernando-alonso-formula-one-aston-martin-spt-intl/index.html) won the 100th podium of his Formula One career at the [Saudi Arabian Grand Prix](http://www.cnn.com/2023/03/19/motorsport/sergio-perez-saudi-arabia-grand-prix-spt-intl/index.html) on Sunday, but the result was only confirmed hours after the end of the race when officials reversed a 10-second penalty. That meant the penalty had not been served correctly and Alonso was given a further 10-second sanction, promoting Mercedes driver George Russell to third place at the end of the race.

Red Bull's dominance and the possible lack of a title race may turn off some F1 viewers, but far more will be alienated if the sport's name becomes ...

Given how dominant Red Bull have been at the start of this new season, many have suggested that a one-sided title race will encourage fans to switch off. For all that time, fans, journalists and even the teams and drivers themselves did not know what the final result of the race was. [Aston Martin](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/aston-martin-f1) mechanic had touched the back of his car with a jack. And so, more than FIVE HOURS after the conclusion of the race, the penalty was reversed and Alonso had his 100th career podium after all. [Fernando Alonso](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/fernando-alonso) finished third in the [Saudi Arabian Grand Prix](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/saudi-arabian-grand-prix) – well, for about 20 minutes. [George Russell, who benefitted from that punishment, was surprised](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/russell-alonso-penalty-jeddah-reaction-29499036).

After a farcical situation at the end of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Spaniard Fernando Alonso did end up securing his 100th career podium.

So now the FIA has to provide some kind of clarity in the next fortnight, on both of these rules. The first is that there were multiple precedents of teams in a similar infringement who were not punished. "In qualifying, we saw a number of cars get laps deleted for touching a bit of the red paint when ending their lap. There has to be clarity on this issue. "It makes it a little bit frustrating for everybody," he added. This happens quite a lot in F1 but the FIA have decided to really crack down on it this year, so Alonso was penalised. Towards the end of the race, both Aston Martin and Mercedes, for whom George Russell was just behind Alonso, got word that the penalty might not have been served correctly. You cannot apply a penalty 35 laps after the pit stop. They had enough time to inform about the penalty. He gained nothing from this, perhaps a five-second [penalty] is too much. "Today, we didn't put on a good show for our fans. I don't have 15, I have 12," he said.

Formula 1 racers are often stereotyped as being extremely selfish, particularly in their younger days, but George Russell showed nothing but class as ...

[The mess the stewards and the FIA made of the whole situation](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/fia-alonso-penalty-jeddah-chaos-29500038) regarding Alonso's penalty left a sour taste after the Saudi GP weekend. [George Russell](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/george-russell) was not part of any of the arguments in the stewards' room, but was still involved in the situation. [Alonso was furious](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/alonso-fia-jeddah-penalty-criticism-29499165) – not necessarily at the penalty itself, but at how long it had taken to give it. [Mercedes](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/mercedes-f1) driver: "Thank you for being a true sportsman today, George. [Sergio Perez](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/sergio-perez) won the [Saudi Arabian Grand Prix](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/saudi-arabian-grand-prix) but, thanks once again to another [FIA](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/fia-world-motor-sport-council) mess, the big story after the race was all about who would be awarded third place. [Alonso kept his podium](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/breaking-alonso-podium-reinstated-fia-29499830), the trophy, the extra three points and the satisfaction of having prevailed against what he felt was an unjust sanction. [Fernando Alonso](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/fernando-alonso) was in that position on the track and even collected the trophy on the podium. There's a reason why Russell is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. I think a little bit of common sense needs to be shown. He went on to add: "They are deserving podium finishers today." [Aston Martin](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/aston-martin-f1) mechanic touched his car with a jack while he was doing so. As he pointed out, 35 laps passed between the alleged rule-break and the awarding of the penalty and, by giving it after the race, the Spaniard was denied the chance to mitigate against it.