Aston Martin seeks right to review Alonso sprint race penalty

Aston Martin has challenged the 10-second penalty issued to Fernando Alonso during the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race by petitioning the sport’s governing body, the FIA, with a right to review.

Alonso was penalised 10 seconds in the sprint race and received three penalty points on his F1 superlicence after he was deemed to have caused a collision with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz while fighting for position.

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The penalty had little impact on Alonso, who had already received a puncture in the collision and dropped out of the running for points, but the three penalty points on his superlicense means he now has six over the past 12 months, with 12 points in 12 months resulting in a race ban.

In order for the original decision to be reviewed by the stewards, Aston Martin must bring new evidence that was “unavailable” at the time of the original hearing and is deemed “significant” and “relevant” by the stewards.

The bar for new, significant and relevant evidence has been set incredibly high by race stewards in the past, and only if it is reached will the stewards then reopen the original case for review in a separate hearing.

Representatives from Aston Martin and Ferrari have been summoned to the initial hearing, which will be held virtually on Friday at 8 a.m. ET.