"What are you penalizing him for?" - Alpine team boss wants discussion with FIA over Fernando Alonso's penalty at 2022 F1 Miami GP

Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer wants a discussion with the FIA regarding Fernando Alonso's second five-second penalty at the Miami GP, which put the latter out of the points post-race. The Romanian-American team boss believes the penalty was unjust and is demanding an explanation from the sport's governing body.

Fernando Alonso had an interesting afternoon in Miami after gaining four positions off the line. As the race progressed, he, however, picked up a five-second penalty for colliding with Pierre Gasly while trying to overtake. The team's main gripe with the FIA came with his second five-second penalty, which he received at the end of the race, dropping him out of the points. The two-time world champion was penalized for allegedly cutting the chicane at Turn 14, stopping Mick Schumacher from getting DRS benefits down the next straight.

Alpine believes the Spaniard was unjustly penalized and is demanding an answer from the FIA. As per Motorsport.com, team principal Otmar Szafnauer said:

“We need to speak with the FIA at the next grand prix. If you leave the track and gain an advantage, meaning you pass somebody that was ahead of you, then it’s easy to determine: you’ve got to give the position back. But in this type of situation, where everybody’s behind you, how can you tell? So you need that feedback. And I think it was wholly unjust to penalize him after. Those guys were behind them, and they ended up behind them. So what are you penalizing him for? If he is marginally ahead, then make him give that little margin back, but don’t give him a five-second penalty because he was two, three, or four tenths ahead in total.”

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Fernando Alonso claims it is only a matter of time before good results appear

Fernando Alonso claims it is only a matter of time before he scores decent points for Alpine F1. The Spaniard has shown promising pace in 2022 but has managed to score only two points for the French team after being a victim of bad luck.

The 40-year-old also believes his position in the championship does not reflect his level of competency, citing bad luck at almost every GP so far this year. Alonso claims the start of the 2022 season has been one of his best in the past 10 years. The driver scored two points in Bahrain's season opener, but since then has suffered DNFs at Jeddah and Imola, and finished outside the top-10 due to a penalty at the 2022 Miami GP.

Speaking about his luck in 2022, Fernando Alonso said:

“It’s a matter of time that the result will come. I feel strong, I feel fast now. The car also feels good, so I’m really looking forward to each weekend. It obviously feels a little bit strange to have two points in the championship, after having probably my best start of the season in terms of competitiveness of the last 10 years, maybe from 2012. I was not as competitive as I felt in these first four races. We’ve been, I think, extremely unlucky with some of the events that happened.”

While pundits such as Martin Brundle have criticized the old-timer for his 'clumsy' driving in Miami, the Spaniard's confidence in his abilities will definitely give Alpine the motivation to improve.