Aston Martin hit with massive fines as fans left for "several hours in the heat"

Aston Martin has been hit with a €25,000 fine per driver after Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll skipped a mandatory Abu Dhabi Grand Prix fan event

The Aston Martin Formula 1 team has been hit with hefty fines ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll missed a mandatory fan engagement activation on Friday.

Both drivers were summoned after the FIA Media Delegate reported that they failed to attend the event, resulting in the team being found to have breached Article 19.2(c) of the FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.

According to the documents, the Aston Martin drivers were defended by the team's sporting director and chief communications officer, who argued that due to them not taking part in FP1, they were not expected to take part in the fan event. This was communicated to the drivers by the team.

The stewards rejected this argument, with the document adding that fans are "the core of Formula 1". The document also states that "many fans had waited for several hours in the heat, to see the drivers at the Fan Engagement."

As a result, the Silverstone team was fined a huge €25,000 per driver, of which €15,000 per driver is suspended for 12 months on the condition that the team will not breach Article 19 over that period.

Cian Shields, Aston Martin F1 Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

In a bid to smooth things over with fans, the team will be visiting the fan zone over the weekend and handing out signed hats to fans wearing Aston Martin merchandise. On top of this, two fans will be given an exclusive garage tour and also given the opportunity to watch a session from the garage and meet both drivers for photos.

These amendments were a promise to the FIA, which has asked for proof.

Friday was unspectacular for Aston Martin, with both drivers sitting out FP1 to give young drivers Jak Crawford and Cian Shields time behind the wheel. FP2 saw Alonso finish ninth on the timesheet, with Stroll finishing 12th - both firmly in a condensed midfield.

"Tricky circuit always to balance the car," Alonso said following his session. "Very different corner speeds in the first sector and in the last sector. The hotel section is always very slow and difficult to negotiate, but yeah, I think as expected. And let's try to find more, especially front grip for tomorrow, and try to be more competitive."

On Crawford and Shields, the two-time champion added, "I think they did a very good job in FP1. We got all the data that we wanted, so they drove consistently, and yeah, I think it was not much missing."