The rules of Formula 1, especially the way they are enforced on the drivers have remained a topic of contention for the longest time. And with the FIA adding more and more rules on how drivers should operate seems to be getting out of hand as far as Fernando Alonso is concerned. During his media rounds in Silverstone, the Spaniard made it clear that the drivers are frustrated with all the rules of engagement and calls for a solution.
One of the highlights of the Austrian GP weekend was Oscar Piastri‘s final Q3 lap time being deleted due to track limits. The Aussie driver and his team were clearly unhappy with how the rule was applied based on a helicopter shot that only captured Piastri on the final lap and not any other driver.
Alonso himself got handed a 10-second penalty in Austria for colliding with Zhou Guanyu while attempting to overtake in Turn 3. Speaking of it, he said, “I think we never had so many rules as we have now. We cannot overtake on the pit lane, we cannot go fast on the pit lane, we cannot go slow on track, we cannot do basically anything“.
️ “This is probably over-regulated and as drivers we feel frustrated sometimes.”
Fernando Alonso says that there are more rules in #F1 now than ever before – and that a “solution” needs to be found between the drivers, teams and FIA: pic.twitter.com/rgHNh8AvVG
— The Race (@wearetherace) July 4, 2024
“This is probably overregulated and drivers we see or we feel frustrated sometimes, teams as well, but we need to find a solution between all of us. We cannot leave the FIA alone on this,” he added.
However, that’s not the only thing Alonso is annoyed with. He also believes that the penalty points that lead to a race ban have been abused by the governing body.
Alonso blames FIA for misinterpreting the purpose of penalty points
The 42-year-old also highlighted how the fear of getting penalty points has affected how drivers race each other. He believes that drivers no longer go for potential overtakes that they would usually have attempted in the past.
He questioned the purpose of the penalty points by talking about what they were originally meant for. “I think when penalty points were introduced, it was to avoid dangerous drivers to keep accumulating penalties without a race ban or something, just to avoid dangerous maneuvers and putting anyone in danger on the track,” Alonso explained.
Fernando Alonso expressed concerns about the F1 penalty points system, suggesting that stewards sometimes mistake racing mistakes for dangerous driving.
He highlighted this after receiving penalty points and a 10-second penalty for a collision with Zhou Guanyu at Turn 3 during… pic.twitter.com/SHijwD47JX
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) July 5, 2024
However, he blamed the FIA for misunderstanding the purpose of penalty points by using his collision with Guanyu as an example. He explained that he simply made a racing mistake while trying to overtake the Chinese driver and that should only have warranted a time penalty.
“What I don’t get is the danger involved in those maneuvers, because there is no danger. This is just… we are taking away the incentive to try an overtaking maneuver,” he concluded.
