Fernando Alonso has had his seventh-place finish at last weekend’s US Grand Prix reinstated after Alpine successfully overturned his penalty.
The two-time Formula 1 World Championship was demoted out of the points following the conclusion of the race after picking up a 30-second penalty. That dropped him from seventh to 15th out in Austin with stewards upholding a protest from the Haas team despite it being sent in after the permitted time limit.
Haas had submitted their protest 54 minutes after the normal 30-minute deadline as they objected to Alonso and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who finished fourth, being allowed to continue racing after damage sustained in collisions. Stewards had rejected the protest against Red Bull but upheld the one against Alonso, resulting in his penalty.
Alonso had been involved in a heavy crash with his future Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll, which saw his car rear up on its back wheels and hit the barrier. While he returned to the pits for a new front wing there was some damage to the floor and front wheels, making it all the more remarkable he managed to finish in seventh.
Alpine were left furious with the 30-second penalty and officials at this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix have now agreed with Alpine’s argument that the Haas protest was not submitted in time. As a result FIA stewards have now reversed the decision with Alonso retaining the six points he won in Austin.
"BWT Alpine F1 Team 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," Alpine said in a statement.
"The team welcomes the decision made by the aforementioned stewards, whereby Car #14 reinstates its seventh place finish and six points from the race.
"We look forward to continuing our collaborative work alongside the FIA to ensure the racing spectacle is maintained to the highest quality. The team now looks forward to competing this weekend at the Mexico City Grand Prix."
While the decision has gone in Alonso and Alpine’s favour, race stewards in Mexico expressed “concern” that the Spaniard had been allowed to remain on the track “with a mirror assembly hanging loose which finally fell off”.
The stewards also added that they recommended procedures should be put in place for monitoring and where necessary problems should be rectified. They also added this could be achieved by a radio call to the team or showing a black and orange flag that would require the car to return to the pits to be repaired.
