Spanish driver escapes punishment, but team fined after a narrow escape from pit-lane collision during Saturday's qualifying rounds
Spanish driver escapes punishment, but team fined after a narrow escape from pit-lane collision during Saturday's qualifying roundsFernando Alonso escaped punishment on Saturday when his Ferrari team were fined following a narrow escape from a collision in the pit-lane during qualifying for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.
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| Ferrari's Spanish Driver Fernando Alonso |
Ferrari were fined 20,000 US dollars after the race stewards decided that the Italian team had released Alonso unsafely ahead of German Nico Rosberg's Mercedes car.
Rosberg had to brake heavily and take avoiding action to avert a collision - and he called for a penalty for the two-time world champion and his team.
But Alonso said: "First of all I didn't see Nico, unfortunately -- the angle of vision is not perfect to see anyone coming down the pitlane, so you rely on your mechanic.
"Then if there is a penalty for this, we need to reconsider some of the Grand Prix we've had so far, in terms of penalties in the pit-lane.
"And third, in case of a penalty, since it's a safety thing in the pit-lane it's normally a fine for the team, so hopefully there isn't any of these cases."
Luckily for Alonso, the stewards followed his thinking and Ferrari -- rather than their driver -- were sanctioned.
Meanwhile, man on pole, Mark Webber dedicate his dazzling drive for pole position to his sleepless, and selfless, Red Bull team mechanics.
Webber said: "This is for the team. Both sides of the garage have had just a few hours sleep in the last two nights. They worked really hard and their effort is translating into lap time."
