Alonso says Sulayem is on board with suggestions from F1 drivers

Fernando Alonso notes on the chat with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem during F1 Miami GP weekend regarding penalties.

The last few race weekends has been slightly harrowing for Aston Martin on the penalty side with both Alonso and Lance Stroll under the scanner. They both have gotten penalty points as well, with the difference causing confusion in the drivers and the team.

Mike Krack spoke at length about the confusion and wanting clarity. They even went ahead with ‘Right of Review’ against the penalty handed to Alonso during the sprint race in F1 Chinese GP when there was slight contact with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

The FIA dismissed the review but agreed that the rules need more clarity. After a non-penalty to Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton for his move at Turn 1 in the sprint in F1 Miami GP, Alonso noted about potential bias regarding penalty handing by the FIA stewards.

Hamilton’s move ended the races of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Stroll, while Alonso ended up at the back of the field. But he was let off and it ticked-off the Spaniard, who feels there is a situation where non-Spanish drivers are not getting penalised.

He wanted to speak with FIA President Sulayem and he did so in Miami after the sprint. “Yeah, I spoke with Sulayem after sprint,” said Alonso. “And he’s always on board on every opinion that the drivers have. He knows that we are the ones driving the cars and that we can have some suggestions on things.

“There are a couple of points that we need to address as a sport. But he has always listened to us. Let’s see if we make F1 a better sport and a little bit more consistent,” summed up Alonso, with team boss Krack also backing his driver after meeting with Sulayem together with the Spaniard.

Here’s Fernando Alonso views after sprint race

Here’s Esteban Ocon on tussle with Fernando Alonso

Here’s news on FIA explaining dismissal of Right of Review

Here’s Aston Martin on being clueless about penalty points situation