DRAMA AT THE F1 SAUDI ARABIAN GRANDPRIX

Formula One has been rising in popularity over the past couple of years due in part to the Netflix series, Drive to Survive. This has led to serious investment in the sport and improvements that have made races more exciting. The culmination of these improvements is the different mistakes the FIA has made from the controversial Abu Dhabi grandprix that handed Max Verstappen his first World Championship and now, the automotive body is in deep waters again after giving Fernando Alonso a penalty for infringing on his earlier penalty that cost him the 3rd place podium. This alone was enough to cause a stir in the paddocks and online but the drama continued as the FIA came out again and reversed the penalty reinstating Alonso’s 3rd place finish.

The two-time World Champion was given a 10-second penalty at the end of the race after not properly carrying out his previous 5-second penalty as one of his mechanics touched the car before the time elapsed. The Aston Martin team was quick to point out that they should have been informed of the penalty before the end of the race as per the FIA rules and regulations. The result was Fernando Alonso being reinstated as a podium finisher, the 100th podium finish of his career.

A similar penalty was given to Esteban Ocon during the Bahrain Grandprix just a few weeks prior.

Fans on social media were quick to call out the FIA for the mistake with most calling for the organization to review its rulebook to avoid such future incidents.

Redbull took home a 1-2 as Checo Perez took the lead followed closely behind by Max Verstappen to secure his points.