Alpine's Fernando Alonso has been found to be at fault for one of the two collisions with teammate Esteban Ocon in the Formula 1 sprint race in Brazil, and has been penalised. The two clashed twice on the opening lap in Sao Paulo with contact made at Turn 4 and on the climb up the hill from Juncao - the latter incident breaking off Alonso's front wing and forcing him to pit. Post-race, he blasted the French driver for his conduct, but was found to be at fault by the stewards.
Alonso penalty
After viewing video and speaking with both drivers, the stewards imposed a five-second time penalty on Alonso and handed him two penalty points. They found that he was "wholly at fault for the collision, which at those speeds and at that location on the track was dangerous." A misjudgement from Alonso was made where he pulled out too late from behind Ocon as he "was significantly faster as he had the tow". Despite the team stating that Ocon was slow due to perceived damage, the stewards dismissed this claim finding he was driving to "similar speeds" as others. The penalty drops Alonso from 15th to 18th for the Grand Prix, starting behind Ocon, who is 17th.
Most read
