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Alonso unhappy again with stewards: 'Expected a penalty for Leclerc'
- GPblog.com
Fernando Alonso was again critical of the race direction after the British Grand Prix. In the opinion of the Alpine driver, he deserved a fourth and not a fifth place on the Silverstone circuit. Charles Leclerc should have received a penalty.
Leclerc avoids penalty
"Fifth place is fantastic, but I thought I could be fourth because I saw Charles change line three times when he was defending against Lewis. I did it twice in Canada and got a penalty," Alonso told AS. The two-time world champion received a five-second time penalty, falling from seventh to ninth as a result.
Alonso has a bit of a love-hate relationship with the race committee in Formula 1 in 2022. The Spaniard put the stewards through the wringer after the Miami Grand Prix and was called to a meeting with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. In the end he received no punishment despite his firm statements. Alonso also confessed he may not have handled it well.
Alonso beats Norris
About the race at Silverstone he further says: "It was nice to see up close [the battle at the front] and it was good to overtake Lando Norris at the end. The car was really good, I felt more competitive than ever this season because we were at least matching Lando's pace. We know Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes are untouchable, but we are ahead of the rest in the midfield."
Alonso's fifth place scored ten points for the World Championship. The number ten in the World Championship was plagued by bad luck at the start, but now stands on 28 points. Teammate Esteban Ocon still has slightly more with 39, but the momentum is clearly with Alonso.