Aston Martin’s frustration with FIA race stewards’ decisions has been brewing across multiple races. In Australia, Fernando Alonso received a penalty for his driving, which was deemed potentially dangerous as it caused an accident with George Russell’s Mercedes.
Similar incidents occurred in China, where Alonso was penalized for contact with Carlos Sainz, and Lance Stroll was penalized for running into Daniel Ricciardo under the safety car. Team boss Mike Krack expressed his frustration with what he perceived as unfair decisions.
In Miami’s sprint race, Alonso found himself in another altercation, this time with Lewis Hamilton, resulting in a four-car collision also involving his teammate Lance Stroll and McLaren’s Lando Norris. Alonso’s frustration boiled over as he accused Hamilton of escaping sanction due to his nationality, implying bias against Spanish drivers in FIA decisions.
He expressed his intention to address this issue with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, emphasizing the need to ensure fair treatment for Spanish drivers, present and future.
Alonso’s frustration persisted during qualifying at the Miami International Autodrome, where he struggled to find pace and ended up in 15th position for both Q1 and Q2. He attributed the disappointing performance to set-up changes that didn’t yield the expected results, leaving him feeling less competitive than usual.
The tight midfield battle in Formula 1 meant that small differences in performance could have significant consequences, as illustrated by the narrow margins between P8 and P15.
Reflecting on his qualifying performance, Alonso admitted to experiencing understeer in high-speed corners and oversteer in low-speed corners, indicating a lack of grip throughout the runs. He acknowledged the challenge ahead in the race, hoping that teammate Lance Stroll’s higher starting position would enable the team to score some points.
However, with Alonso starting from 15th on the grid, he anticipated a difficult race ahead, emphasizing the competitiveness of the midfield group and the need to overcome their current struggles.