Fernando Alonso Weighs In On FIA's New Solution to Grid Penalties
Fernando Alonso recently shared his thoughts on the modifications to the Australian Grand Prix grid after experiencing a penalty setback in Saudi Arabia. The Spanish driver became the second in consecutive races to receive a five-second penalty for parking in the wrong position within the grid box.
Similar to Esteban Ocon's situation in Bahrain, Alonso parked his Aston Martin too far to the left, meaning the sensors pointing at the grid couldn't pick up his car. To prevent similar incidents at the Australian Grand Prix, the FIA has increased the grid box width by 20cm and added a central line behind the position to assist drivers as they line up.
Adapting the Grid
As of now, these changes have only been implemented in the first few grid positions. The decision to continue with this approach for the remainder of the season's races will depend on driver feedback after Friday's practice sessions.
When asked if the changes will be beneficial, Alonso expressed doubt about the central line, stating:
"The central line, I don't think so. You approach the box looking sideways, so you are not looking forward – that is the biggest difficulty."
However, he acknowledged that the additional 20cm might help, especially in tight circuits like Monaco or Imola:
“The 20cm will help, I guess. There are going to be some circuits – maybe Monaco or Imola, that you start a little bit sideways anyway because if not, you crash if you start just straight.
“We will have to see how we apply the penalties and things like that in those races.
“But no one wants to get a penalty for the start. Also, I think the FIA doesn’t want to have any problem with that because there is not a performance advantage, as long as you don’t go too far forward.
“Hopefully, we will avoid anything from now on.”
Navigating the Challenges of Modern F1 Cars
With F1 cars larger than ever before, featuring oversized tyres and wheel covers, visibility has become increasingly challenging for drivers. When questioned about the difficulty of seeing the grid box in current cars, Alonso admitted the following:
“It is difficult and apparently this year, it is even more because in two races to have two penalties is a little bit strange.
“In my case, it didn’t change much from last year.
“It is difficult and we are very concentrated on the yellow line to not go too far forward, so you approach the box not looking at the box, you are looking at one side of the cockpit, so maybe that is a little bit of a distraction.
“I made a mistake there, so we will try to be more focused on the box this weekend and avoid any penalties.”