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Alpine calls on FIA to change penalties: 'Drivers can't see the lines'

Alpine calls on FIA to change penalties: 'Drivers can't see the lines'

21-03-2023 13:27 Last update: 15:21
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GPblog.com

Alan Permane, Alpine's sporting director, has called on the FIA to reconsider penalties around positioning at the start. Against Speedcafé Permane addresses the penalty, which has now been handed out twice in the first two races.

At the first race of the year, Esteban Ocon stood too far to the right in his grid box, for which the driver received a five-second time penalty. Two weeks later, Fernando Alonso was too far to the left in his grid box in Saudi Arabia, and so the Spaniard received the same penalty. In both cases, the stewards ruled that the penalty was also not properly served because the team was already too quick to get back to the car, and so both drivers also received a 10-second penalty. Ocon's remained, while Alonso's was eventually withdrawn.

"Ours was a fair cop," Permane acknowledged. "We were four-tenths too quick (in working on the car), so no argument from us at all on that. What seems a little bit draconian, shall I say, is this new regulation of where the car has to stop on the grid box. No one is getting an advantage from being 10 centimeters over to one side or the other. I don’t quite really see why. And they (the FIA) are free to paint the grid boxes as wide as they want. There doesn’t seem to be a regulation for that."

Drivers receive messages of support from Verstappen, Russell and Perez

After the race, George Russell, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez all three acknowledged how difficult it was to see the lines at the starting grid. Permane noticed the same problem with his driver. "They can see them as they come up, but as they get close to them they just disappear. Esteban has been concentrating all week, but he said he got to the grid and he had no idea where he was. So it feels harsh, and unnecessary to me."