Fernando Alonso was again chirpy after the happenings in F1 US GP when he ran in with the Alfa Romeo pair, as FIA Race Director Michael Masi adds his view.
Once again Alpine’s Alonso in the thick of things with the involvement of the stewards as seen all-through the 2021 F1 season. Having started from the back of the pack in F1 US GP, the Spaniard clawed back near to the Top 10 by midway in the race.
He was in touching distance but it didn’t come easy. He had two incidents with Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi. First up was the Finn where the two collided at Turn 1, with Alonso on the inside and the Alfa Romeo racer on the outside.
There was body parts shedding but Raikkonen stayed ahead when exiting the corner despite having all four wheels off track at one point. There was no penalty and despite Alpine asking the FIA Race Director Masi about it, the position stayed as it is.
“I think he overtoook me outside the track,” said Alonso to written media. “Obviously it is their decision so we have to accept it. I don’t know if you saw the whole race, but there was the same incident I think on lap one with Lando [Norris], in Turn 12. He braked on the inside, overtook Sainz, Sainz went off track, retook the position and [he had to give the place back].
“And then in the last part of the race, when I overtook Giovinazzi for the second time, I braked on the inside at Turn 12. And again, I forced him off track. He regained the position off track and that time he had to give me back the position. So, in a way, you always force a guy to go off track when you brake on the inside: you commit to an overtaking.
“And they need to decide if they back off, or keep the full throttle off the track outside the circuit. It is what Sainz did. Giovinazzi did, I did. And we have to give back the position for sure, because you are running full throttle off track. But Kimi didn’t. So that’s why I felt that it was not consistent.
“I lost like 10 seconds by doing all these things, and obviously the point possibilities were gone. But I mean I’m not too mad about this because it is only a one point place. And then we have the failure of the rear wing anyway, so it didn’t change our race, arguably. So this is not a problem,” summed up Alonso.
From the side of the FIA – Masi – who doesn’t take decisions of the steward, noted that the case was marginal. While he did not accepted outright that Raikkonen escaped the penalty, he noted about having talks regarding the move in the next drivers’ briefing.
“The call with regards to him and Kimi at turn one was certainly marginal,” said Masi to written media. “It’ll be something we’ll have a discussion at the next drivers’ meeting with all drivers about. There was two parts to the story, let’s call it, which has been obviously the overtake and looking at the forcing off-track and then obviously the subsequent element of the overtake.
“So it’s something we’ll discuss as a group at the next meeting. And regarding Alpine inquiry, I’ve got a good relationship with all the sporting directors. They’re all fighting in their own corners and that’s what you’d expect for them to continue fighting in their own corner,” summed up Masi.
That was not the only fight Alonso had, as he got into a double tussle with Giovinazzi later on in the race. At first, the Spaniard braked late at Turn 12 and went off the track and still stayed ahead. He was immediately asked to give the place back which he did.
At the same corner, it was Giovinazzi who went wide in a similar way and was eventually asked to give the place back. When asked if he did it on purpose to prove a point, Alonso noted that it wasn’t the case as he wanted to finish P10 which was what on his mind.
“I felt okay when I overtook Antonio,” said Alonso. “I braked very late into Turn 12 and I missed the corner on exit. So when the team told me that I need to give back the position, I understood that it was the right thing to do and it seemed logical to me because I braked too late. If there was a wall there I would never brake that late, so I took advantage of going off track and I have to give back the position, so I slowed down.
“Unfortunately I was three seconds in front of him already, so I lost a lot of time. But I understood the decision. And then Giovinazzi did the same thing and he had to give me back the position. So yeah, it came back to my original point that, with Kimi, it felt strange. But I was not trying to prove anything. I was just trying to recover places. P10 was the real target and we try. And we respect obviously everything that the FIA says,” summed up Alonso.
Here’s Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen in the fight: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2021-united-states-grand-prix-former-champions-alonso-and-raeikkoenen-duel-in-austin.1714531110636824744.html
Here’s Fernando Alonso and Antonio Giovinazzi in their fight: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2021-united-states-grand-prix-alonso-wins-epic-two-part-battle-with-giovinazzi.1714533092514703807.html
Here’s how F1 US GP panned out