In the closing stages of the F1 Sprint race in China last time out, the top two spots were already sealed. Max Verstappen was a long way clear at the front, with Lewis Hamilton in a somewhat lonely second.
But behind them, all hell broke loose on lap 16. Fernando Alonso fronted a four-car battle for the final podium place that also featured both Ferrari drivers and Sergio Perez.
On the exit of turn six, Carlos Sainz sensed his opportunity. He got better traction than his fellow countryman and tried to pass him round the outside of seven.
Alonso, however, refused to give up, and the two drivers touched wheels at high speed. Sainz bravely held on and appeared to get the move done, only for the 42-year-old to dive down the inside a couple of corners later.
His lunge forced Sainz off the race track, and that allowed Perez to make up two positions at once. Charles Leclerc then battled his way past Sainz in another aggressive scrap that prompted the latter to apologise behind the scenes.
In the end, Sainz had to settle for fifth, while Alonso was forced into a late retirement after sustaining a puncture. To make matters worse, the stewards subsequently decided to apply three penalty points to his licence.
That puts the double world champion on six overall, halfway to a race ban. And it will be nearly a year before three of those points are wiped.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, then, to see Aston Martin lodge a protest. They will have the opportunity to make their case at the Miami Grand Prix in the hope of reducing or removing the initial punishment.
Will Buxton enjoys what he’s seeing from one F1 team right now
Speaking on F1TV’s Weekend Warm-Up show in Miami, Buxton shared his thoughts on Aston’s challenge. He feels that the Silverstone outfit are holding the FIA to account this year.
Back in March, they issued a statement on their social media channels expressing their dismay at a penalty Alonso received at the Australian GP. The stewards decided that he’d driven in a potentially dangerous manner during a late battle with George Russell before the Mercedes man crashed.
“It feels like Aston Martin are kind of doing God’s work at the moment in the Formula 1 paddock,” Buxton said. “They’re literally protesting everything to try and get a clear view of ‘how are you going to interpret the regulations this year, FIA, because we’d quite like to know?’”
David Croft baffled by reaction to Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo incident
Alonso wasn’t the only Aston Martin driver involved in an incident in Shanghai. Lance Stroll also received a 10-second penalty for a collision with Daniel Ricciardo at the safety-car restart.
The field bunched up at the hairpin as leader Verstappen got the race back underway, and it caught Stroll out. He hit the back of Ricciardo, lifting the rear of his car into the air and causing him to make contact with Oscar Piastri.
The Australian duo both suffered damage, but Ricciardo was worse off. He tried to continue but his floor had taken such a severe hit that he had to retire.
David Croft was critical of Stroll after the race for making a ‘rookie error’. And the Sky Sports F1 commentator was also ‘amazed’ that Aston Martin considered his penalty harsh.
The 25-year-old has refused to directly apologise to Ricciardo for the instance. As such, Buxton says he doesn’t want to be ‘anywhere near’ him in Miami.
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