Fernando Alonso had an inaugural Miami Grand Prix to forget, following two late five-second time penalties.
The Spaniard initially crossed the line at the Miami International Autodrome in eighth place, however, he was dropped to eleventh after the time penalties were applied.
The first penalty was awarded to Alonso for an overambitious move on Pierre Gasly.
The Alpine driver attempted a late move on the Frenchman at Turn 1, colliding with the AlphaTauri driver in the process.
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This collision actually had a further impact on the Grand Prix, as on the same lap Gasly collided into Lando Norris as a result of the damage he picked up following his incident with Alonso.
The Gasly, Norris incident saw the race’s only Safety Car deployed, which in effect was the reason for Alonso not picking up a points finish.
The double world champion’s second penalty was actually announced several hours after the race had finished.
It was declared that Alonso ran-off the circuit and gained an advantage, resulting in another five-second time penalty.
The initial penalty saw the Spaniard drop only behind his team-mate, Esteban Ocon, who finished eighth after an incredible drive having started in the pit-lane.
When the second penalty was added to Alonso’s finishing time, he dropped behind Alex Albon and Lance Stroll, with the latter inheriting a points finish.
Like his team-mate, Stroll also started from the pit-lane.
The Canadian who crossed the line in eleventh, inherited tenth thanks to Alonso’s penalties, as explained by Martin Brundle.
“This allowed the excellent Alex Albon into ninth and two points for Williams, and the pit lane starting Lance Stroll a well-deserved point for Aston Martin. They were both driving well all weekend.”
Former-racer turned pundit, Brundle praised Ocon for his great recovery having started from the pit-lane.
“Esteban Ocon came from the back in a newly created car to finish an impressive eighth for Alpine,” Brundle said,
“Along with the Aston Martins, he’s a good reminder that, with the easier to follow 2022 cars and copious DRS zones, with some decent strategy and pit stops, along with patience, you can score points from anywhere on the grid or even the pit lane.”
Alonso has demonstrated strong pace at the majority of races so far this season, the Spaniard though has only collected two points in 2022.
Similar to Max Verstappen, Alonso has seen the start of his season hampered by reliability issues.
Brundle believes the Spaniard is “carrying a lot of frustration”, as his solid pace continues to be meaningless.
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“Fernando Alonso had an angry and clumsy race to forget, making contact on a couple of occasions and taking penalties for both that and cutting the track to finish out of the points,” he said.
“He’s carrying a lot of frustration as this season unfolds with solid speed but only two points alongside his name from the first race of the season.”