Fernando Alonso has held his hands up and apologised to Pierre Gasly after a crash between the pair in the Miami Grand Prix left the Spaniard, by his own admission, deserving of a penalty. The two drivers came together late in the race, with points on the line at the Miami International Autodrome. Gasly, wounded by the incident, would go on to retire from the event, but not before collecting Lando Norris to bring out a late-race Safety Car. Alonso, despite having made contact with both Gasly and Lewis Hamilton on race day, went on to finish eighth before the stewards hit him with two time penalties. He took a five-second penalty for the collision with Gasly, and an additional five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining a "lasting advantage".
Alonso holds his hands up
Alonso took the blame for the incident with Gasly, which happened shortly before the French driver tangled with Norris on his way back to the garage. "It was a tough race on our side, for sure," said Alonso, describing his race to select members of the media, including RacingNews365.com . "I was very aggressive at the start. I made four or five places there and had a touch with Lewis, but the car was good after that, so that was a lucky touch! "Then, on the pit-stop, I had that sloppy stop and I lost like four seconds there, so I had to recover that time with Gasly. "Eventually, I closed the gap and then I was very optimistic about the move with him, but I touched with Gasly and then I had the penalty - five seconds - which I deserved. "It was my mistake and I braked too late. We were ready to give back the position, but he was in the pit-stop at that time, so I had to pay those five seconds."
Alonso's misfortune continues
After five races of the 2022 season, Alonso finds himself with just two points to his name and fewer than Williams driver Alex Albon, who has three. "I apologised; it was my mistake," Alonso confirmed. "Sometimes it happens to me. Mick [Schumacher] span in Imola and destroyed my race, today I braked too late and destroyed Pierre's race. "It was my mistake and I feel sorry for him, because I know how it feels and it was not his fault. It's hard to not finish a race after someone touches you from behind." He added: "It was bad luck for him and my mistake."
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