Alonso loses 100th podium in Jeddah, Russell promoted

Fernando Alonso will have to wait a little longer to celebrate his 100th career podium. While he finished 3rd in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after another great performance at the wheel of his Aston Martin, the double Spanish world champion was penalized by 10 seconds.

The scenario is strangely similar to that experienced by Esteban Ocon et Alpine two weeks earlier. Penalized for the first time by 5 seconds for being poorly positioned on the grid, Alonso, who had taken the lead on the first braking from 2nd place, was penalized because Aston Martin poorly observed this first time penalty!

A Greens mechanic actually touched the Iberian's AMR23 while it was immobilized for the famous 5 seconds. The investigation launched after the checkerboard was quickly concluded. 10 seconds added to Alonso's race time, who slips to 4th place.

George Russell inherits 3rd place and signs the first podium of Mercedes in 2023.

If Alonso's double penalty does not overshadow the good performances of Aston Martin, the Silverstone team must nevertheless remain on its guard, having seen Lance stroll abandoning due to a mechanical problem early in the race. It is not enough to be competitive in F1 : execution and reliability are equally essential factors.