Fernando Alonso has been given a post-Sprint time penalty at the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix following his clash with team-mate Esteban Ocon.
The Alpine driver had crossed the line 15th, but with a five-second penalty now applied, he’s been classified 18th.
Alonso was battling with Ocon on the opening lap of the Saturday encounter, the pair twice making contact.
The first was at Turn 4 when the Spaniard ran wide, though there was no repercussion beyond the lost position for that exchange.
Stewards did, however, penalise the two-time world champion for a clash on the front straight.
Tucked up in the slipstream, Alonso pulled out from under Ocon’s rear wing too late, making contact with his team-mate’s right-rear tyre.
While the Frenchman was able to continue, Alonso was forced to pit for a replacement.
LAP 4/24
ALO 📻: “Just lost the front wing. Thanks to our friend”
Fernando Alonso makes contact with Esteban Ocon again! The Spaniard is furious #BrazilGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/EtVuHarpD4
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 12, 2022
“Alonso started a pass on car 31 at turn 15,” Stewards said in their report.
“The team noted that Ocon was unusually slow because of the aero damage due to the incident at turn 4, however the Stewards determined via telemetry that Ocon was at similar speeds to other cars at the same point on the track that were not in a tow.
“Alonso, however, was significantly faster as he had the tow, and – as he admitted in the hearing – slightly misjudged the time to pull out and struck Ocon from behind, his front wing striking Ocon’s rear tyre.
“The Stewards found that Alonso was wholly at fault for the collision, which at those speeds and at that location on the track was dangerous.”
Ironically, the penalty will now see Alonso and Ocon start Sunday’s race alongside one another on Row 9 of the grid.
Lance Stroll also had a time penalty added to his result after he was deemed to have forced Sebastian Vettel off the road.
“The Stewards viewed video evidence and determined that Car 18 driven by Stroll deliberately drove to the left after Turn 3, driving car 5 off the road in a dangerous manner.”
As that penalty was assessed during the Sprint, it was applied as the Canadian crossed the line meaning there is no subsequent change to the classification.
While Alonso picked up two Super Licence penalty points, Stroll was handed three.
It’s the second time he’s been involved in such an incident in recent events, having been found to have moved late in the United States while defending Alonso.
Stewards also issued a warning to Pierre Gasly for driving unnecessarily slowly, while Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, and Guanyu Zhou were all cleared for starting infringements.
The latter trio were referred during the Sprint and investigated afterwards after having been found outside of their allocated grid boxes.
“The Stewards reviewed the start sequence, as it was observed that multiple cars were potentially out of their grid box in violation of Article 8.6.1.a) of the FIA International Sporting Code, being either to the left or right of the grid box,” the announced.
“Having reviewed all available angles of video, and making measurements on the grid, the Stewards noted that the grid boxes were slightly smaller than usual and that the drivers’ visibility makes compliance extremely difficult and that no driver was in a position that gained any advantage.
“The Stewards are therefore satisfied to take no further action.”
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