Lewis Hamilton heartbreak as he narrowly misses out on P4 after Fernando Alonso penalty

Fernando Alonso finished the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in P3 on track to provisionally score his second consecutive podium for Aston Martin.

Fernando Alonso has dropped down from third to P4, as he has been slapped with a 10-second penalty for serving a penalty incorrectly in Jeddah.

The Spaniard had qualified second for the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but he was quickly hit with a 5-second penalty for being out of position in his grid box at the start.

Alonso served the penalty during the race without losing a position, however towards the end of the grand prix it emerged that he was facing another penalty.

This is because his Aston Martin engineers seemingly worked on the car before he served the penalty while stationary in the pits, with the rear jack clearly touching the AMR-23.

READ: Furious Max Verstappen lashes out at Red Bull in Saudi Arabia

Esteban Ocon received a 10-second penalty for a similar reason two weeks ago during the season opener in Bahrain, and Alonso has received the same penalty.

This has dropped him behind George Russell, giving the Mercedes driver a podium while putting the Spaniard in P4.

He is still marginally ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who stays in fifth position.

Alonso’s team-mate, Lance Stroll, retired from the grand prix due to a mechanical issue – and it was his DNF which triggered the race’s only safety car.

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It’s yet to be confirmed why exactly Stroll had to retire, but it appears he suffered some sort of engine issue.