Fernando Alonso reinstated in third place after wacky FIA penalty and reversal

Fernando Alonso was reinstated in third position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to cap off the wacky few hours following the podium ceremony.

Alonso claimed the third-place trophy after finishing behind both Red Bulls, but shortly after celebrating on the podium he was handed a 10-second penalty that dropped him behind Mercedes’ George Russell.

The FIA ​​had ruled that Aston Martin had incorrectly carried out a five-second pitstop penalty from Alonso, halfway through the race, which he received after failing to line up correctly on his starting grid.

The FIA’s verdict said the rear jack hit the car before Alonso finished five seconds at a standstill.

After his initial penalty was issued, Alonso criticized the race marshals.

“Today is not good for the fans,” said the Spaniard.

“When you have 35 laps to apply the penalty and you wait until after the podium, there is something wrong with the system.

After Aston Martin’s appeal, that penalty was later overturned shortly after 1am, dropping Alonso to third place – the 100th podium of his F1 career and Aston Martin’s second in a row.

The stewards’ verdict on the cancellation said: “After reviewing the new evidence, we have concluded that there is no clear agreement, as had been suggested to the stewards previously, upon which one could agree. press to determine that the parties had agreed that a jack touching a car would be tantamount to working on the car.

“In these circumstances, we considered that our original decision to impose a penalty on car 14 should be reversed and we have done so accordingly.”

A statement from the FIA ​​said: “The Stewards’ request for a review of the original decision (Document 51) was made on the final lap of the race. The Stewards’ subsequent decision to hear and grant the right 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 was exposed by this specific instance.

“This subject will therefore be taken up at the next Sporting Advisory Committee to be held on Thursday 23 March, and a clarification will be issued before the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. This open approach to reviewing and improving its processes is part of the FIA’s ongoing mission to regulate the sport fairly and transparently.”