Alpine boss Laurent Rossi has criticised a “disappointing” penalty given to two-time world champion Fernando Alonso during the Miami Grand Prix, saying it was “difficult to accept.”
Alonso was eighth across the line at the inaugural Miami race, but two five-second penalties dropped him to 11th and out of the world championship points.
The first was for causing a collision with AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly, and the second was for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
AS IT HAPPENED: Terzievski prevails in epic war with Gallen
READ MORE: Gallen’s ‘insane’ comeback attempt stuns fans
READ MORE: Wild fight ends in trainers almost punching on
It was the second penalty that infuriated Alpine, after Alonso cut a chicane on lap 53 of the race, allowing him to pull out of DRS range of the chasing Mick Schumacher. Without that penalty Alonso would have finished ninth.
Rossi posted a statement on social media claiming Alonso gave back the time on the same lap, and claimed the team wasn’t given the chance to explain that to officials.
“A disappointing post-race penalty for Fernando for leaving the track and gaining an advantage means our six points at the chequered flag turned into four points and it has cost us a deserved double points finish,” Rossi said.
“This one is certainly difficult to accept since Fernando handed back the time during the lap and we were not able to present the evidence to clarify the particular situation before the penalty was issued.
“With the opportunity to explain, we’re very confident Fernando would have kept his ninth place. We’ll go again next weekend in Spain where we’re determined to piece together a much slicker and, a more fair, race weekend and demonstrate the real potential of our package.”
Miami was the fourth consecutive race where Alonso failed to score a point, a particularly frustrating run given the apparent competitiveness of the car.
The Spaniard has just two world championship points, compared to 24 for teammate Esteban Ocon.
“The Miami Grand Prix weekend did not disappoint and it was great to experience a new event with such a vibrant atmosphere,” Rossi said.
“It was equally pleasing to put on a race to match the anticipation and, from a team perspective, it was satisfying to have both of our cars crossing the finish line inside the top ten after a compromised qualifying for varying reasons.
“These scenarios ultimately shaped our weekend: Esteban unfortunately missed qualifying, although with sufficient safety measures in place, it is likely the car would have been okay, while Fernando caught traffic on a fast lap.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!