Fernando Alonso has been given a 10-second penalty for his accident during the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Alonso was at the front of a five-driver line towards the end of the sprint, desperately trying to hold on to third place from the likes of Ferrari, Sergio Perez and Lando Norris. However, it was his compatriot Carlos Sainz who struggled the most, and seemed to be above par when it came to defending Alonso.
Fernando Alonso handed a sprint penalty for the Chinese GP
Stewards held Alonso responsible for the contact that left both drivers damaged. The Aston Martin driver limped back to the pits and was forced to retire, while Sainz dropped down the order with front wing damage.
Alonso finished last, but the stewards confirmed that the situation had deteriorated slightly in the morning by imposing a 10-second penalty on Alonso.
Sports judges said Alonso’s movements did not meet driving standards guidelines and he was therefore given a 10-second penalty.
However, as this was a sprint race, Article 54.3 of the Sporting Regulations states that the penalty time will be added to Alonso’s sprint race, not the Grand Prix itself, so there is little real impact on the driver.
The more impactful penalty is the three penalty points on his license after the incident with George Russell in Melbourne, taking him up to six points.
Stewards also took issue with the ambiguity of the wording in the regulations regarding what happens if a car retires. They recommended that the FIA make “the necessary amendments to bring greater clarity to this matter”.
Aston Martin scored zero points in the sprint, with Lance Stroll finishing 14th, while Ferrari scored nine points.
