Formula 1 United States GP
Alonso loses F1 points finish with penalty as Haas protest succeeds
Fernando Alonso has received a time penalty after Haas protested his damaged Alpine car on technical grounds following the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.
Luke Smith
Edited: Oct 24, 2022, 12:42 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Alonso finished seventh at the Circuit of The Americas on Sunday despite being involved in a big crash with Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll that saw his car briefly go airborne.
Alonso returned to the pits slowly after the incident, but was able to continue after Alpine fitted a new front wing and fresh tyres. His right rear view mirror was visibly loose, before then falling off his car in the closing stages of the race.
Haas argued that Alonso’s car was unsafe due to the loose and then missing right-hand mirror, something that was agreed with by the stewards and the FIA’s technical staff.
FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer said that “a flapping mirror was dangerous and it could come loose and hit another driver causing injury,” making it unsafe. His view was supported by FIA technical chief Nikolas Tombazis.
The decision was taken to give Alonso a 10-second stop/go penalty after the race, which was converted into a 30-second time penalty, dropping the Spaniard to 15th.
Sebastian Vettel moves up to seventh, ahead of Haas driver Kevin Magnussen who goes up to eighth, with Yuki Tsunoda taking ninth. Alonso’s Alpine team-mate, Esteban Ocon, moves into the points with 10th.
Fernando Alonso, Alpine A522
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
It emerged in the hearing that Haas contacted race control twice during the race about Alonso’s loose mirror, and was told that it was being looked into, only for no action to be taken.
The stewards said in the ruling they were “deeply concerned that Car 14 was not given the black and orange flag, or at least a radio call to rectify the situation, despite the two calls to Race Control by the Haas team.”
They also rejected Alpine’s argument that examples from Suzuka in 2019 where two cars drove with loose mirrors could be considered precedents, and said it was entirely Alpine’s responsibility to ensure the car was being run in a safe manner.
Haas also lodged a protest against Sergio Perez’s Red Bull car, but this was thrown out, meaning the Mexican keeps fourth place.
Haas argued that Perez’s car was unsafe due to the loose front wing endplate, but it emerged Red Bull had contacted Bauer with a picture of the front wing after the incident, and Bauer was satisfied that it was safe to keep running. This was echoed by Tombazis during the hearing.
Haas lodged the protests after taking issue with the stewards’ decision to throw a black and orange flag against its cars for loose front wing endplates on three occasions this season.
Magnussen said the lack of a black and orange flag for Perez’s loose front wing endplate following contact with Valtteri Bottas on the opening lap was “bullshit” given the previous action against Haas this year.
Read Also:
- Magnussen: FIA "way over the top" with latest F1 black-and-orange flag
- Stroll gets three-place grid penalty for Mexico after Alonso crash
- Hamilton will take Mercedes "to the top" when car is ready for F1 title fight
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Red Bull and Alpine to face F1 stewards in Austin after Haas protest
Next article Alpine to protest Alonso F1 penalty after losing US GP points
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
More from
Haas F1 Team
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Haas justifies picking Rafael Camara over Ryo Hirakawa for F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Haas justifies picking Rafael Camara over Ryo Hirakawa for F1 Brazilian GP
Latest news
IndyCar 2026 season review: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 7 min
IndyCar 2026 season review: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Kyle Larson admits he didn't think Cup title was possible in NASCAR champion's speech
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 34 min
Kyle Larson admits he didn't think Cup title was possible in NASCAR champion's speech
Wright Motorsports names full-time 2027 IMSA GTD lineup as Sargent joins Adelson
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 36 min
Wright Motorsports names full-time 2027 IMSA GTD lineup as Sargent joins Adelson
John Klausmeier joins 23XI Racing as technical director
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
John Klausmeier joins 23XI Racing as technical director
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe