Fernando Alonso was given a 30 second penalty for driving an “unsafe” car during the USGP after HAAS protested the result, demoting the Spaniard to 15th from 7th, however at a meeting prior to the Mexican GP, stewards have overturned the penalty, reinstating the 7th place finish.
In a video meeting, Renault owned Alpine proteested the admissibility of the HAAS protest, due to the original protest being lodged 24 minutes too late.
Initally, the Alpine protest was dismissed due to protests cannot be lodged against a decision against the stewards. It was also noted that Alpine’s counter-protest was lodged 68 minutes after the decision on the original protest was published, therefore it was outside the prescribed time limit and was rejected.
This decision prompted Alpine to request a “right of review” indicating that they were in possession of new evidence, “it was not until 20:53 hrs on the day of the race that the team became aware that the original protest was lodged 24 minutes after the usual 30-minute deadline.”
A further meeting was held, where it was determined that HAAS could have submitted a handwritten letter within the legal time limit. This made HAAS’s initial protest not admissible meaning that Alonso’s penalty is null and void, reinstating Fernando Alonso’s incredible 7th place finish at the US GP.
In a statement on Alpine’s official Twitter they thanked:
“the FIA stewards for convening and reaching a positive conclusion on the matter involving Car #14 from last weekend’s United States Grand Prix.”
“The team welcomes the decision made by the aforementioned stewards, whereby Car #14 reinstates its seventh-place finish and six points from the race.
“We look forward to continuing our collaborative work alongside the FIA to ensure the racing spectacle is maintained to the highest quality.”