Fernando Alonso wants talks with FIA president after nationality bias claim

Fernando Alonso wants to talk with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem after claiming Spanish F1 drivers are being treated differently.

The Aston Martin driver felt Lewis Hamilton deserved a penalty for his aggressive dive down the inside of Turn 1 at the start of the sprint race, forcing Alonso wide and into his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll.

Stroll then collected McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was forced to retire.

Alonso suggested Hamilton escaped a penalty for ‘ruining’ people’s races “because he’s not Spanish”.

Norris also felt it was "obvious" that Hamilton was to blame for the collision. 

Explaining their decision to take no action, the stewards said: “From the video evidence, it appeared that there were at least three collisions that occurred – the first between Cars 14 (Alonso) and 18 (Stroll) and then between Car 44 (Hamilton) and Car 14 and finally between Car 18 and Car 4 (Norris).

“While it appeared to us that the incidents began with Cars 14 and 18, the sudden and fast arrival of Car 44 contributed to the various collisions. However, we were not able to identify one or more drivers wholly or predominantly to blame for the various collisions or any one of them.”

After qualifying for Sunday’s grand prix in Maimi, Alonso appeared to stand by his earlier claim to broadcaster DAZN.

The two-time world champion said he “had to open the gap because Hamilton was coming from the inside without control of the car”, adding that "if I do that for sure I get the penalty.”

Alonso said he will seek out FIA president Ben Sulayem to make sure his fellow Spanish drivers are “protected”.

“I do feel that nationality matters, and I will speak with Mohammed [Ben Sulayem], with the FIA, whatever,” he told reporters in Miami. 

“I need to make sure there is not anything wrong with my nationality or anything that can influence any decision - not only for me but also for the future generation of the Spanish drivers. They need to be protected.”

Alonso’s press officer then stepped in to stop further questions on the subject.

The four-man stewarding panel in Miami is represented by members from Singapore, Barbados, Italy and America.

Alonso endured a dreadful day in Miami, finishing 17th in the sprint race after picking up a puncture in the clash with Stroll.

He was then eliminated in the second part of qualifying and will start a lowly 15th for Sunday’s race.