FIA comes up with clarification on time penalties rules before next race

The FIA will take another look at the way the rules around pit stops are enforced. A spokesman for the organisation confirmed this to several reporters. The reason is the confusion surrounding Fernando Alonso's time penalty in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.

During the race, Alonso received a five-second time penalty, which he served at his next pit stop. However, towards the end of the race, the stewards were told by race control that someone from Aston Martin had been touching the car during the penalty, and so a new 10-second time penalty followed. This was only announced after the race and then successfully challenged by Aston Martin, so the exact result was not finally known until several hours after the race.

The central issue in the debate was whether or not the person with the jack should be allowed to touch the car with the jack. According to the race committee and stewards, this was not allowed, but Aston Martin successfully managed to show that that interpretation was incorrect and inconsistent with previous rulings.

Issue to be referred to advisory committee

The FIA has decided that this situation should not happen again. The FIA's Sporting Advisory Committee will consider the matter at its next meeting. The FIA spokesperson explained: "The request to the Stewards for review of the initial decision was made in the last lap of the race. The subsequent decision of the stewards to hear and grant the Right of Review by the Competitor was the result of new evidence regarding the definition of ‘working on the car’, for which there were conflicting precedents, and this has been exposed by this specific circumstance. A clarification will be issued ahead of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. This open approach to the review and improvement of its processes is part of the FIA’s ongoing mission to regulate the sport in a fair and transparent way."