Alonso finds grid penalty for Stroll heavy: "For me a racing incident"

Lance Stroll was given a three-place grid penalty for the Mexican Grand Prix by the stewards for his part in the hard-hit with Fernando Alonso at the Circuit of the Americas. Remarkably, Alonso is quite lenient about his rival's manoeuvre. He even seems to be taking a bit of a shine to Stroll.

Alonso argues that he and Stroll moved at practically the same time. "For me, it is a racing incident, he certainly didn't do it on purpose," he is quoted by the Italian branch of Motorsport.com. The two drivers simultaneously went to the stewards together to tell their side of the story. "I think it was a very unfortunate moment for everyone," he said.

Alonso and Stroll on good terms

Alonso says he has known Stroll for a long time and states that they went to the stewards together on good terms. "I think there was more of an issue between our team managers, I think we saw the incident with the same eyes, while they saw it with completely different eyes!" According to the two-time world champion, incidents like this can happen when driving at 300 km/h on the straight.

Alonso agrees that if you play back the incident in slow motion and you watch the footage frame by frame, Stroll moved to the left just a little later than he did. However, if you watch the television footage, it looks like both drivers started the move to the left at the same time. So, according to the Alpine driver, one cannot help but conclude that there was a racing incident as well.