Alpine has won its case to have Fernando Alonso’s Formula 1 penalty from last weekend’s United States Grand Prix overturned after it appeal over Haas’ protest was approved.
Haas lodged a protest against Alonso’s car post-race in Austin, arguing it was driven in an unsafe condition due to a loose wing mirror sustained from a mid-race crash with Lance Stroll.
The stewards reviewed Haas’ appeal before deeming it admissible, thus handing Alonso a 30-second time penalty that dropped him from seventh to 15th place.
Alpine issued a counter protest claiming Alonso had not received a message from race control that his car was damaged and needed repairing, and also argued Haas had lodged its protest after the deadline.
Haas said it was told by the FIA it had an hour to submit its protest as it was not possible to meet the required deadline.
The hearing took place in Mexico on Thursday and the FIA initially ruled Alpine’s protest was inadmissible as the regulations do not permit for a protest to be lodged.
Alpine then asked for a right of review, citing it had new and significant evidence that “it was not until 20:53 hrs on the day of the race that the team became aware that the original protest was lodged 24 minutes after the usual 30 minute deadline.”
The team also argued that it only found out Haas had been told by race control at the hearing on Sunday in Austin, making it a further element of evidence.
This saw another hearing take place on Thursday night where it was judged that Haas could have lodged its protest within the 30-minute deadline, therefore making its original appeal null and void.
Alonso’s six points for finishing P7 has therefore been restored, and Alpine issued a statement on the FIA’s verdict of its protest.
“Alpine thanks the FIA stewards for convening and reaching a positive conclusion on the matter involving Car #14 from last weekend’s United States Grand Prix,” the statement reads.
“The team welcomes the decision made by the aforementioned stewards, whereby Car #14 reinstates its seventh place finish and six points from the race,” said the team. “We look forward to continuing our collaborative work alongside the FIA to ensure the racing spectacle is maintained to the highest quality.”
