Cynical Fernando Alonso sees clear mistake in Lewis Hamilton: ‘But he is not Spaniard, so he will not be punished’ | formula 1
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With summaryFor Lewis Hamilton it was a sprint race to quickly forget in Miami. Not only did the Mercedes driver finish outside the points, he was also the cause of a sort of pile-up of cars on the opening lap. Fernando Alonso was not really pleased with the Brit’s action and subsequently lashed out at the race management for not giving a penalty.
On the first lap Hamilton was a little too enthusiastic, with Lando Norris being the main victim. The McLaren driver could not continue on his way, but afterwards Alonso was the most outspoken. The Aston Martin driver – who never got along with Hamilton – had to avoid his rival, just like teammate Lance Stroll. Alonso hit Norris, who had to wave away after just a few hundred meters.
The 42-year-old Spaniard added Viaplay that it was obvious that Hamilton made a mistake in the absolute opening phase. “He shot inside, but he didn’t have his car under control at all,” said Alonso, who already suspected that the stewards would let Hamilton go unpunished for this mistake. “They probably won’t hand out any penalties, because he’s not Spaniard , so then it is not a punishment.”
Alonso was referring to incidents in Australia and China, where he himself received penalties earlier this year due to incidents with George Russell (Mercedes) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari).
They probably won’t hand out any punishments, because he’s not Spaniard, so it’s not a punishment
Fernando Alonso
Hamilton did get a time penalty for another offence
Hamilton eventually received a penalty in Miami for another incident, which meant he finished sixteenth instead of eighth. The reason: the Mercedes driver had driven too fast in the pit lane during the safety car. Regardless of the twenty-second time penalty he was given, it was in any case a sprint race that will not remain in Hamilton’s memory for long. The Briton was stuck behind Kevin Magnussen for many laps. Haas’s car is usually located a bit further back on the grid, although seven constructors points have already been scored in the World Cup in 2024.
For years, Hamilton’s well-known recipe was: qualify on the front row of the grid in his dominant Mercedes and then drive to victory without any competition. However, those times are over, because the last victory of the seven-time world champion dates from the beginning of December 2021. At that time he was the strongest in Saudi Arabia.
From 2022, Mercedes will have to make do with a place in the middle more often and that also includes racing. Whether it was Hamilton’s fault on Saturday or the uncompetitive Mercedes: the sprint race in Miami will quickly be forgotten.
Watch the summary of the sprint race below:
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