Aston Martin protests Austrian GP F1 results

Aston Martin Formula 1 team has lodged a protest on Sunday evening against the result of the Austrian Grand Prix.

The Silverstone team took a double points finish at the Red Bull Ring, with Fernando Alonso finishing sixth and Lance Stroll rounding out the top 10.

The team initially refused to disclose what the grounds for its protest were, but the FIA soon confirmed that Aston took issue with the manner in which the stewards applied track limits penalties.

"A protest has been lodged by Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team against the provisional classification," said an FIA statement.

"The protest claims that a number of cars were not penalised for a breach of Article 33.3 of the Sporting Regulations. A hearing will be conducted at 1830 hrs.

"In the meantime, the Stewards, having become aware of the existence of a number of deleted laps (due to exceeding track limits) that were drawn to our attention after the receipt of the protest, have requested Race Control to perform a reconciliation of all deleted laps with penalties applied.

"We note that Race Control dealt with in excess of 100 deleted laps during the race."

The Spielberg race was littered by track limit offences, with eight drivers hit with five-second penalties for crossing the white lines, mainly in Turns 9 and 10.

Alonso finished within five seconds of Norris's McLaren, while Stroll equally took the chequered flag close behind Pierre Gasly in the Alpine. Any more five-second penalties would therefore move both drivers up a position.

The race was won at a canter by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who kept the Milton Keynes team's streak of winning all 2023 races intact with a commanding drive.