The fallout from Fernando Alonso’s post-race penalty in Austin is set to continue in Mexico after Haas and Alpine were summoned to meet the stewards on Thursday, as the French team look to get the penalty overturned.
Alonso was given a 30-second post-race penalty after his car was deemed unsafe by the stewards after losing his right-hand mirror during Sunday’s United States Grand Prix – dropping the Spaniard from 7th down to 15th – meaning he lost all his points on Sunday.
This came after Haas lodged a complaint to the stewards against the Red Bull of Sergio Perez – after the Mexican lost his front wing endplate early in the race – and Alonso, after the Spaniard suffered damage from his crash with Lance Stroll.
READ MORE: Alonso dropped out of points following Haas protest at United States Grand Prix
While the protest against Perez was ruled inadmissible, the stewards upheld Haas’ complaint issuing Alonso with a 10-second stop and go penalty, which turned into the 30-second penalty, as it was applied after the end of the race.
2022 United States Grand Prix: Alonso goes airborne in huge crash with Stroll at COTA
But Alpine are now contesting whether Haas’ protest is admissible, and said in a statement: “BWT Alpine F1 Team is disappointed to receive a post-race time penalty for Car #14 from today’s United States Grand Prix, which unfortunately means Fernando moves to outside the points-paying positions.
READ MORE: Stroll handed three-place grid drop after high-speed clash with Alonso at COTA
“The team acted fairly and deemed the car remained structurally safe as a result of Fernando’s incident with Lance Stroll on lap 22 of the race with the right-side rear view wing mirror detaching from the chassis as a result of accident damage caused by Stroll.
“The FIA has the right to black and orange flag a car during the race if they consider it unsafe and, on this occasion, they assessed the car and decided not to action the flag. Moreover, after the race, the FIA technical delegate considered the car legal.
“The team also believes due to the protest being lodged 24 minutes past the specified deadline, it should not have been accepted and therefore the penalty should be considered as invalid.
READ MORE: 6 Winners and 5 Losers from the United States Grand Prix – Who got the crowd on their feet in Austin?
“As a result of this point, the team has protested the admissibility of the original Haas F1 Team protest.”
Team representatives from Alpine and Haas will now meet for a hearing via video conference on Thursday, ahead of this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix. The first hearing will be to determine if Alpine’s protest is admissible and if the stewards find that it is, another meeting will be arranged.
