Alonso warns F1 will face “huge problem” if Austin penalty isn’t removed

Alonso was hit with a 10-second stop-and-go penalty (converted to a 30-second time penalty) after the race, which dropped him out of the points.

The decision from the stewards came after Haas decided to lodge a protest against Alonso, who completed the race in Austin with some damage to his car following his heavy shunt with Lance Stroll.

The stewards argued that Alpine failed to ensure Alonso’s car was completely safe after one of his mirrors came off during the remainder of the race.

Soon after, Alpine lodged a protest of their own, pointing out that Haas’ initial submission was after the deadline.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s F1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Alonso said: “Let’s wait until we have the outcome today. Obviously I was very disappointed. It was a rollercoaster of emotions for me on Sunday. 

“Started at the back, then we were like P6, we had the accident, last again, and then finishing P7, and then in the evening again, out of the points - so it was up and down all day long. And now let’s wait and see. 

“I think I’m very optimistic that we will keep seventh place. FIA has been very transparent to us this year. “I think the new leadership also with Mohammed [Ben Sulayem] are doing things a little bit differently than in the past. So I have full trust in what they will decide. I think there are a couple of things that are very clear that were made wrong from their side. 

“So as I said, I’m very confident that that will be P7 again in Austin. If I’m not P7 at the end, I’m sure they will explain why and we will see it clear. So you know, I am very, very relaxed about that.”

Explaining why Alpine decided to protest, Alonso said: “We protested this basically because it was out of time. And there were a couple of things that the FIA was not showing me the black and orange flag so they felt that the car was safe to keep driving. 

“The car went to parc fermé, passed all the scrutineering, green light in parc fermé, and then the protests arrived too late. So between all I think there is no doubt that this was not the right decision to take. And if this is the right decision to take, it will open a huge problem for the future in F1. I think 50, 60, 70 per cent of the cars will have to retire the car when they have an aerodynamic device that is not properly fixed because it’s going to be unsafe, the car. 

“If 20 minutes too late is okay to protest, is one month too late? Is one hour too late? Is 10 years too late? When is too late? So as I said, this is a very important day for our sport. I don’t care about seventh, you know? I’m not fighting for the world championship. but if this goes ahead, I think we don’t want to open that box.”