The FIA’s relationship with controversy never seems to end. This comes after their recent error involving Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard collided with Lance Stroll, which ended the latter’s race, while Alonso suffered heavy damage. Despite the damage, Alonso drove a mighty race which earned him a P7 finish, only for the FIA to ruin the party.
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However, on his way to the finish line, the Spaniard lost his right hand side mirror. This led to the FIA awarding Fernando Alonso a 30-second penalty in Austin, much to Alpine’s frustration. Fernando Alonso crossed the checkered flag in P7. However, after implying the penalty, the Spaniard could only muster a P15 finish.
Although the FIA has now overturned Alonso’s penalty, it was originally Haas who lodged a protest against Alonso for driving an unsafe car following the crash with Stroll. Alpine was quick to issue a counter-protest, stating it would be a ‘huge problem for F1 if it deemed damaged cars to be unsafe as it would force “50, 60, 70%” of cars to retire’.
Furthermore, they also claimed that the Spanish driver was not shown any Black and Orange flags, which means that the car must return to the pit area immediately because of a mechanical problem.
British F1 Journalist Chris Medland, found some similarities between Alpine’s incident and the one in Abu Dhabi last year. He wrote on his Twitter, “For those saying Alpine outcome shows FIA should have overturned Abu Dhabi last year, it actually has similarities.”
He further added, “Stewards tried to retrospectively penalise an error made (missed) during a race, and then has had to backtrack on it. Race Control still needs fixing, clearly #F1“
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Seeing the tweet from the freelance F1 journalist, fans shared their own views on the social media platform.
F1 Twitter divided by Medland’s recent tweet
It’s fair to say the FIA has been under the microscope ever since last year’s Abu Dhabi GP. Moreover, Chris Medland believes that the recent events in Austin are a bit similar to what happened in Abu Dhabi last year. However, F1 fans on Twitter were left divided by his opinion.
Some fans agreed with Medland and his views.
#F1 is a joke because the governing body fails to realise that it is responsible for applying the rule. @fia seems to react to the teams & negotiate with them They need to take responsibility & do the right thing, irrespective of the consequences
However, others weren’t convinced by his views and shared why they felt otherwise.
But it's way different, here Alonso finished P7 on the road, and this is simply nullifying the protest (and subsequent penalty) from another team. What do you exactly overturn in AD? You can't throw a post race penalty just because, and you can't nullify laps as you please
Mercedes withdrew their appeal and Alpine did not. Literally 0 similarities and you know it
Meanwhile, some fans wondered if Medland was a part of Team LH44.
Lol, you guys cant stand there is a better one than Lewis now. Let's turn back all the unfair penalties Verstappen had last year.
You can't let go either @ChrisMedlandF1 ? It's unhealthy to be so obsessive and angry. I suggest therapy, maybe group therapy, along with cultLH44.
One fan also felt for last year’s race director Michael Masi, who was sacked from his position.
This sums things up lol... I feel sad for Masi.. so much they did to find out that it's not him it's just the complexity of the sport and situations that arise.
I don't think this is comparable to AD. What Masi did was within the rules (doesn't make it logical) because the rulebook itself was terribly written. How are you going to have a ton of articles detailing the SC procedures AND THEN put another one that allows RC to do anything?
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With Alonso’s penalty rescinded and his P7 finish restored, Alpine’s lead over McLaren extends further. They will be hoping to finish the season strongly and above the Woking-based team. Can Alpine hold its ground and finish P4 in the constructor’s championship?