Saudi Arabian GP: It turned out to be the second incident of the 2023 Formula One season. Fernando Alonso made a mistake when lining up within his grid box during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. It resulted in the podium finish being briefly postponed. Alonso received a 5-second time violation because he was 1 inch too far to the left. Formula 1 LIVE Updates with InsideSport.IN.
Esteban Ocon, the Spaniard’s former teammate, received a similar penalty earlier in the 2023 season opener in Bahrain.
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Ocon was frustrated and claimed that the penalty against him and Alonso was stupid and unnecessary. He said it is very challenging to see these lines in current F1 vehicles. However, if the FIA did not intervene, the Frenchman warned penalties would persist for the remainder of the season.
Ocon stated in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, that it isn’t as easy as it seems To park the car in the right place. He says that these cars are very big And their seats are very low. He says with the position of seating, it gets very difficult to park the car in the line.
Team dinner 🟢 @astonmartinf1 . #f1 #astonmartin https://t.co/CRzvONAEmx
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) March 29, 2023
The Mercedes George Russell also agreed with him. He stated that the yellow line is barely visible from that seating position. Hence it is not much of an use to navigate the drivers.
The drivers have expressed frustration over how challenging it is to see the grid box’s edges from their cockpits. After consulting with the Formula one drivers, the FIA ultimately decided in favour of this matter.
Alonso originally received a 5-second time penalty for starting incorrectly. When the driver stopped on lap 18, he completed the punishment. The stewards, however, claimed that there had been an infraction because the rear jack had made touch with the Aston Martin vehicle. Perhaps construct a marked box in the pitlane one metre away from the car’s markers. Team must remain outside of these confines.
However, coming back to Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso’s issues with the grid box’s sight were taken into consideration by the FIA. The governing authority has made the decision to implement significant changes prior to the upcoming Australian GP.
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Grid boxes at Albert Park will now be 20 centimetres wider, according to the FIA. Additionally, a centre line will be present to help the driver align it with the car’s snout.