FIA Director Masi Disagrees With Alonso’s Leclerc-Ricciardo F1 Complaints

The drama from the Red Bull Ring keeps unfolding. Even a week after the race, there is still so much to talk about, especially for Fernando Alonso. After an eventful race finishing with points, the Spaniard had grievances about the track limits at turn one.

Alonso felt “stupid” for following track limits while Ricciardo and Leclerc ran off the track to gain positions on him. When race director Michael Masi heard of the complaints, he dismissed them.

Turn one on the Red Bull Ring has proven to be quite notorious. Bothering Fernando is the incident where Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo didn’t follow the track limits, and instead went wide at the corner to re-enter ahead of the Alpine. This angered Alonso, as he was losing position while obeying the limits. He said, “I was the only one making the corner, so you feel a little bit stupid.”

Alonso had asked the FIA to look into the limits of turn one, arguing that he lost positions because of the overtaking. The stewards did not officially investigate the incident; however, they had looked into what happened.

Formula One F1 – Steiermark Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Styria, Austria – June 26, 2021. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso during practice REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Masi commented, “One of the things we have always said… is that on the first lap, and the first couple of corners, a car must be back behind the car that it entered the corner behind. And we looked at the incident that Fernando was referring to… that was exactly what happened.” (Translated via Google Translate)

In simpler terms, he’s suggesting that the driver who enters the corner from the front, can exit from the front using the outside of the track.

Read More: REVEALED: How the FIA Is Keeping a Leash on Red Bull’s Rear Wing After Mercedes’ F1 Protests

Masi concluded Alonso did not lose position because of the incident. He also revealed that the start of the race is not judged the same way as the rest of it. “First turn, lap 1 … and you have to remember that from a team perspective too, that all incidents on lap 1 are dealt with in a more lenient way. And it has been that way for years.”

Alonso at the Austrian GP

While the two-time world champion faced these problems on Sunday, the rest of the weekend wasn’t breezy either. On Saturday’s qualifying, Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin interrupted his timed lap, which possibly robbed him of entering Q3. This was lead by an angry FP2 on Friday when Kimi Raikkonen threatened to crash into the Alpine.

Formula One F1 – Steiermark Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Styria, Austria – June 25, 2021 Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in action during practice REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

Overall, the trouble was almost worth it. During the final laps of the race on Sunday, Alonso and Williams driver George Russell engaged in an epic wheel-to-wheel battle. And after an intense fight, Alonso finished the race with a point for his team.

Alonso’s protests against the incident came to the FIA in what was a busy day for them. With multiple penalties during the race, ten drivers were under investigation after the race, and subsequently, three were sanctioned.

However, considering the fact that the FIA is a little more lenient with smaller situations like this, Alonso may drive a little more carefree and aggressive in the future.

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