Alonso reinstated back to P3 after Saudi Arabia review

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso has had his 100th podium finish reinstated after the team won their right of review.

Alonso celebrated his 100th podium after the chequered flag fell on the Formula 1 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after the Aston Martin driver brought his car home in third, behind both Red Bulls.

However, the Spaniard was given a 10-second time penalty for failing to serve his five-second time penalty correctly which was given for not being within his grid box at the race start.

This dropped Alonso down to fourth between the two Mercedes as George Russell inherited the Spaniard’s podium.

Following the race result, Aston Martin launched a right of review in a bid to re-instate Alonso’s lost podium finish.

In the document, the FIA said:

“The Stewards received a letter dated 19th March 2023 from Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team with a Petition for Review pursuant to Article 14.1.1 of the International Sporting Code (ISC) of this Stewards panel’s decision to impose a 10-second penalty to Car 14 for failing to serve the penalty properly.

“In support of the Petition for Review, the Stewards were shown minutes of the latest SAC meeting and video evidence of 7 different instances where cars were touched by the jack while serving a similar penalty to the one imposed on Car 14 without being penalized.

“The clear submission by the Team was that the alleged representation of an agreement between the FIA and the teams that touching the car in any way, including with a jack, would constitute “working” on the car for the purposes of Article 54.4 (c) of the Sporting Regulations, was incorrect and therefore the basis of the Steward’s decision was wrong.”

In light of the review, the race stewards changed their mind and re-instated Alonso’s podium finish. They said:

“Having reviewed the new evidence, we concluded that there was no clear agreement, as was suggested to the Stewards previously, that could be relied upon to determine that parties had agreed that a jack touching a car would amount to working on the car, without more.

“In the circumstances, we considered that our original decision to impose a penalty on Car 14 needed to be reversed and we did so accordingly.”

That’s all for the article; Alonso reinstated back to P3 after Saudi Arabia review!

What do you think of the FIA reversing their decision? Let us know in the comments!

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Alonso slapped with 10 second penalty for serving penalty incorrectly
• LIVE: 2023 Saudi Arabia GP
• Live Coverage: F1 Saudi Arabia GP – Qualifying
• LIVE: Saudi Arabia GP – FP3
• Saudi Arabia GP: Verstappen remains on top after FP2
• Saudi Arabian GP: Verstappen on top as Alonso joins top three

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, to keep up to date with the latest news from Apex Motorsports! You can also support us on Patreon!

Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.