Fernando Alonso, from the Aston Martin F1 Team AMR24, believes that Lewis Hamilton will likely escape punishment for his involvement in the incident at Turn 1 during the Sprint race of the Miami Grand Prix, simply for not being Spanish. Hamilton, starting from 12th position, made a late move on the inside of Turn 1, causing Alonso to swerve towards his teammate, Lance Stroll. This resulted in contact between the two drivers, with Stroll’s car colliding with Lando Norris’ McLaren, forcing both to retire from the race. Alonso also suffered a punctured tire as a result of the incident, hampering his chances of a good result.
Despite the incident, Hamilton managed to continue racing and finished in eighth place, although he later received a drive-through penalty for speeding. When asked about the possibility of the stewards taking action, Alonso expressed doubts, suggesting that Hamilton’s nationality may play a role in the decision. Alonso felt that Hamilton’s actions negatively impacted several drivers, especially Norris, who had a fast car and was forced to retire from the race due to the incident.
After the incident, Alonso went to the pits to change his punctured tire and found himself at the back of the pack behind the Safety Car. He then engaged in a battle with his former teammate Esteban Ocon. Alonso, who had been penalized earlier for contact with Carlos Sainz in the Sprint race in China, stated that he chose not to take risks against Ocon to avoid potential penalties.
Alonso acknowledged that he often faces penalties for his actions on the track, even though he did not receive one in this particular race. He revealed that he chose to focus on completing the race without taking unnecessary risks. The shortened race served as a testing session for Alonso to gather information on tire degradation and other important factors for tomorrow’s Grand Prix.
According to Alonso, the Sprint race had little significance for his team, as the main goal was to evaluate the car’s performance and make the necessary adjustments for the qualifying session and the 57-lap race tomorrow. He emphasized the importance of drawing conclusions from the Sprint race to improve the car for the rest of the weekend.
