Alpine and Haas summoned by FIA stewards in Mexico over 2022 F1 US GP protests
FIA stewards have summoned Alpine and Haas F1 on October 27th to determine the outcome of a 30-second penalty received by Fernando Alonso.
The Alpine driver was involved in a high-speed collision with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, which left the former with a damaged front-right mirror. The mirror later flew off the car, but the Spaniard was able to continue in the race without receiving a black-and-orange flag, as is the rule. The black-and-orange flag is waved to any driver who has a mechanical issue and must return to the pits to rectify it or retire.
Fernando Alonso is given a 30-second penalty for driving an unsafe car with a flapping wing mirror that then eventually came off the car in his recovery drive at the US Grand Prix. Stewards said he should have had a black-and-orange flag. It drops him out of the points
The Haas F1 team contested this move of not awarding Alonso a black-and-orange flag. The stewards also agreed with the American outfit and awarded the Spaniard a post-race penalty. Notably, Haas's Kevin Magnussen has received a black and orange flag on several occasions for similar offenses. A similar complaint was also made against Sergio Perez, who drove with a broken front wing end plate.
The stewards initially handed Alonso a 10-second stop/go penalty after the race. Since the penalty could not be served by then, the Alpine driver received a full 30-second time penalty, dropping him out of points. The French team, though, has also appealed the stewards' decision given the penalty was lodged 24 minutes past the specified deadline and should not have been accepted.
The team also believes due to the protest being lodged 24 minutes past the specified deadline, it should not have been accepted and therefore the penalty should be considered as invalid.
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An official document has been posted to both teams where representatives from both parties will be heard via a video link. The reasoning mentioned in the document, as specified by the stewards, says:
"To determine the admissibility, or otherwise, of the Protest lodged at 22:01 hrs Sunday, October 23 2022 by BWT Alpine F1 Team against the Decision of the Stewards of the 2022 United States Grand Prix to find the Protest lodged by Haas F1 Team as admissible (Document 57)."
Officials have also clarified that a separate hearing will be carried out if Alpine's protest is deemed admissible.
McLaren star claims Alpine F1 is doing a good job in the constructors' race
McLaren star Lando Norris has claimed that Alpine is doing a better job than his McLaren team and will be difficult to beat for P4 in the constructors' championship. The driver believes that the rival camp's 2022 challenger, A522, is easily the faster car.
What a race, what a comeback, in touching distance of a double points finish. A great drive and team effort.
P7 Fernando
P11 Esteban
#USGP @BWTUKLtd https://t.co/aLKkgvYZ6o
While speaking to the press at the 2022 F1 United States Grand Prix, Norris claimed:
"It was a good race for them. Yeah, simple as that. They're performing well. They're doing a very good job and it’s as simple as that, honestly. They're very quick. They have been since race one this year. We're putting up a good fight. I think. We're doing everything we can."
The French team have lost their 13-point lead over the Woking-based outfit, which has now been reduced to only six points. The two teams' fight for P4 might go down to the very last race as either of them could claim the position.