BWT Alpine F1 Team are to protest against the penalty that was awarded to Fernando Alonso following the conclusion of the United States Grand Prix.
Alonso was awarded a penalty after Haas F1 Team claimed that the Alpine car was unsafe due to the right-hand mirror moving and falling off. The damage had been done after an incident that saw Alonso going airborne after a crash with Lance Stroll during the race when the Spaniard was trying to overtake the Canadian driver.
The stewards and FIA technical staff reviewed the protest and agreed the car was unsafe, but this morning Alpine issued a statement confirming they will protest the decision. They are deciding to protest the decision due to the Haas protest being lodged twenty-four minutes after the specified deadline and they believe that it should not have been accepted by the FIA.
“The team acted fairly and deemed the car remained structurally safe as a result of Fernando’s incident with Lance Stroll on lap 22 of the race with the right-side rear view wing mirror detaching from the chassis as a result of accident damage caused by Stroll,” read the Alpine statement.
“The FIA has the right to black and orange flag a car during the race if they consider it unsafe and, on this occasion, they assessed the car and decided not to action the flag. “Moreover, after the race, the FIA technical delegate considered the car legal.
“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.
“As a result of this point, the team has protested the admissibility of the original Haas F1 Team protest.”
The protest from Alpine will be heard this Thursday ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.