Japanese GP: Alonso Criticizes F1 Again, Hamilton Downplays Title Talk

Fernando Alonso’s hatred towards Formula 1 continues to grow after he questioned the race stewards’ decision to hand him a five second penalty after he was pushed off track by Lance Stroll during the opening lap of the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Spaniard, who started 18th on the grid, made a good start and had gained a few places before the end of the opening lap. He was making a move on Williams’ Stroll, who started four places ahead at the end of the opening lap when the two made contact.

Alonso was alongside the Williams driver as they approached the final chicane, but Stroll made contact with the McLaren pushing him off the track. The Spanish racer decided to cut the chicane and come out ahead of the Williams, and since he was not ahead of Stroll when contact was made, he was expected to give back the position.

The double F1 world champion did not cede his position and thus was handed a five second time penalty — that was served during the first round of pit stops. The Williams driver was also found guilty of causing a collision and handed the same penalty, which he accepted by admitting his mistake.

However, Alonso was not happy about the penalty insisting he had no other option but to leave the track, and argued he should not have got the penalty after Stroll had accepted it was his fault. He believes the lack of consistency from the race stewards when it comes to penalizing drivers for their errors is what makes F1 bad. This is not the first time the McLaren driver criticized the sport — he has previously called it predictable and boring.

“Even when the driver comes to apologise, I think it’s difficult to understand the decision. This is how bad Formula 1 is,” Alonso said after the race, as per Crash.net.

“[Bad] in the decisions, in the random, in the poor consistency. You are braking on the outside at the last corner and you go on the gravel, you come here to apologise and you get a penalty. It’s a shame,” the Spaniard explained the reason for him calling F1 “bad.”

“[Stroll] didn’t see me. If he saw you and put you in the grass it’s another thing but it was just an unfortunate incident. It doesn’t change much, would have finished 12th instead of 14th. It’s the way it is.”

Alonso confirmed in August he will be leaving F1 at the end of the ongoing campaign. He is keen to take on a new challenge, one which will allow him to compete again for race wins and world championships.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton downplayed talks of having one hand on his fifth F1 Drivers’ championship after recording his sixth win in seven races at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Mercedes driver now holds a 67-point advantage over title rival Sebastian Vettel after the Ferrari driver committed yet another error, which saw him finish in sixth place.

“Honestly, I am really taking it one step at a time,” Hamilton said after the win, as quoted on Planet F1.

“Each week you have a positive weekend and then you go to another grand prix and you’re not sure how you’re going to fare, and how you’re going to perform. … I think we have gone from strength to strength this year as a team and I really hope… Austin is generally a good track for us and I can’t wait to unleash this beast there,” he added talking about the United States Grand Prix, which is up next in two weeks’ time.