Fernando Alonso pointed to several unusual movements in the grip between Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez in England and asked the FIA to clarify what is and what is not allowed in battles for positions
The final laps of the British GP were undoubtedly a delight for Formula 1 lovers, but Fernando Alonso still can't swallow that all the defensive maneuvers of his opponents were considered to be within the rules by the race management. The Spaniard brought up the subject again during the weekend in Austria, saying that he was very confused by the stewards' interpretation and asked for further clarification of what, in fact, drivers are allowed to do when fighting for positions.
Alonso's indignation is mainly due to the fact that he was punished two weeks earlier, in Canada, when he was fighting for position with Valtteri Bottas. In the race in Montreal, the race management considered that the Alpine driver changed direction more than once to prevent the Alfa Romeo driver from attacking the Finn. As a result, Alonso took 5s and dropped from seventh to ninth.
At Silverstone, the two-time champion finished fifth, just behind Charles Leclerc, but was at a loss to understand why the Monegasque passed unscathed in the eyes of the FIA when he was fighting with Lewis Hamilton for third place and further pointed to another situation. "Honestly, I watched the race on Monday, and more than [Leclerc's] movements on the straight, the fight between Charles, Checo [Pérez] and Lewis - that was fantastic to watch on TV, of course, and I even witnessed it coming from behind. But at the beginning of the year, you weren't allowed to go off the track, and that was something very black on the seat."
"Now, going off the track, going through the escape area and still fighting in the next corner is allowed," Alonso mocked. "It's a completely different direction from what we've seen so far, so it will be very important to clarify that. I believe we will address the issue at the briefing, we have to talk about it. Of course, when you are side by side and throw someone off the track, there are different situations, different maneuvers and different curves. So it's always difficult to judge, but the one thing that was very clear was about the white line, and that didn't happen at Silverstone," he added.
"I went off the track in Miami on a corner, and for them [FIA], I benefited by giving all the advantage back. Now [at Silverstone], there was a clear gain of advantage, because it was possible to fight on the inside and the outside of the corner. It was very clear, and there was no penalty. I'm very confused," continued the driver.
The punishment in Miami made Alonso angry, and he even accused the commissioners of "incompetence". Now, however, the Spaniard assured that the remarks are not a criticism, but only a clarification request for the drivers to enter the track aware of what is or is not allowed in fights for positions.
"They [the commissioners] have a difficult job, and we have to help them. I'm not saying that what happened at Silverstone was right or wrong. I'm saying that we need to have a better idea about what happens in order to help them. They are here to help us and supervise the race. We just have to make sure that we are in the same line," he concluded.