MONTMELÓ, Spain ( Associated Press) – Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso slammed the FIA at his home Grand Prix on Friday, accusing the race stewards of incompetence and calling the directors a lack of professionalism for the role. Is.
At the Miami Grand Prix two weeks ago, the Spaniard was furious after being penalized late in the race in a race to score points. Alonso claimed at the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday that his alpine team presented evidence to reverse his penalty, but the stewards had already made their decision and were working for the day.
“We believe it was very unfair and it was just the incompetence of the managers – they were not very professional,” Alonso said. “We arrived after the race with all the evidence … and they were just packing up. They weren’t even in the room. We showed them all the data, they said, ‘Give us five minutes,’ and then they told themselves Found hands tied, probably because they had already issued the fine and didn’t know how to go back from that document.
“It’s something that shouldn’t happen in Formula One, with the professionalism and standards Formula One has right now.”
Alonso was punished twice in Miami, but Alpine resisted a late punishment to leave the track and regain the position. The team insists that he refunded the time he earned and that he had the data to substantiate his claim.
Alonso’s criticism comes amid tensions between the race management carried out by the FIA, the governing body for F1, and the teams stemming from last season’s conclusion in Abu Dhabi. The championship was controversially won by Max Verstappen after a sequence of events set in motion by then-race director Michael Massi.
After a late caution, Massey broke protocol and made decisions that saw Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton for the championship, winning a race that was dominated by Hamilton until Messi’s decision. The FIA conducted an offseason review Sequence Ki and Masi were dropped from the role earlier this season.
Masi has been replaced by Niels Witich and Eduardo Freitas, as well as a new remote system that provides additional in-race support to the stewards.
Alonso said on Friday that “definitely not” when asked whether race control has improved with the changes. He also took on Witich, who has been the race director at every event this season. Freitas is making his debut as an F1 race director in Barcelona this weekend.
“You need to have some knowledge of racing before you try to be a race director or monitor a race,” Alonso said. “And I don’t think the knowledge exists at the moment. I know there’s a new race director out here. I think Freitas has a lot of experience with the WEC and other categories at the top level. And I think that’s why Things will get better already.”
Witich has experience as Race Director in DTM, Formula 2 and Formula 3. He had supporting roles in F1 races before his promotion this season. Freitas has been the Race Director of the World Endurance Championship and an official of GT and Touring Car Racing.
The drivers have been with Witich for more than a month after the race director issued a ban on wearing jewelry and non-compliant underwear. while in the car. Hamilton has been given a two-race exemption to compete with piercings the seven-time champion says can only be surgically removed and has protested the ban in Miami by wearing as much jewelry as he can fit. reached the track; Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel wore a pair of underwear over his firesuit as he walked through the paddock in his protest.
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Associated Press Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer in Indianapolis, Indiana contributed to this report.
