Fernando Alonso hit out at the FIA after he was denied a 100th podium of his Formula One career due to a time penalty.
Alonso finished third in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday, seemingly grabbing his second podium of the season for Aston Martin.
The Spaniard had taken the lead from polesitter Sergio Perez early on, yet was penalised for an incorrect starting position on the grid.
He recovered to cross in third, yet an investigation after the race concluded that one of the team's engineers had placed the rear jack on the back of Alonso's car just before that five-second penalty had been served in the pit lane.
Alonso was subsequently handed a 10-second penalty that saw him drop out of the podium places, with Mercedes driver George Russell benefiting.
Aston Martin might well appeal the decision, and Alonso suggested he cares little about the FIA's ruling after he already celebrated becoming only the sixth driver in F1 history to claim 100 podium finishes.
"I was good and it doesn't hurt too much to be honest," he told Sky Sports. "I was on the podium, I did pictures, I took the trophy, I celebrated and now I have apparently three points less – I don't have 15, I have 12.
"I think it is more FIA, poor show today. More than disappointment from ourselves. You cannot apply a penalty 35 laps after the pitstop.
"They had enough time to inform me about the penalty because even if I knew that maybe then I open up 11 seconds to the car behind.
"I know the team is trying to review it with the stewards now because we didn't understand fully the second penalty.
"I care, but I don't care that much as I have celebrated and now I have three points less? OK, let's try and recover in Australia."
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack told Sky Sports: "First of all we need to look at the videos what happened exactly so right now I can not really say how this is going to go.
"The regulation said you may not work on the car, it's maybe a little bit ambiguous but this is something we need to look at, we have a clear procedure for it, a countdown, and everything was fully safe. No advantage came from it so let's see how this develops."
Russell, who claimed third place, described the decision to penalise Alonso as "harsh", though he added: "They are the deserved podium finishers but I will take the extra trophy and not complain too much!"
Alonso, meanwhile, reflected on a strong weekend as Aston Martin look ahead to the next race in Melbourne at the start of April.
"We had some concerns about Jeddah after being very strong in Bahrain but arguably here, we were faster than Bahrain on race pace," he said.
"We could control the Ferraris, we could control Mercedes and I don't want to be too optimistic but it looks pretty good for the future."
Horner lauds Verstappen attitude as he eyes Red Bull comeback
Christian Horner has praised Max Verstappen's attitude during Red Bull's recent struggles, but he is confident the team can make a comeback in the final eight races.
Verstappen saw his lead cut at the top of the drivers' championship to 62 points by McLaren's Lando Norris in Monza, with Charles Leclerc also closing the gap.
The Dutchman has now gone five Grand Prix's without a pole position, his worst streak since the sixth race of the 2021 season (five).
He has also failed to emerge victorious in his last six Grand Prix's, with the last time he stood on the top step being at Barcelona in June.
“What’s really impressed me with Max is how he’s really engaged in this process,” said Horner.
“He’s not panicking, he’s working with the engineers, he’s explaining very clearly where the issues are, he’s putting the time and effort in.
“He was in early this morning, he was on Zoom calls last week, he’ll be on the simulator before the next race, and he’s really working hard at this.
"I think he’s shown great maturity as a world champion, the way he’s working with the engineering group.
“Nobody likes the situation we’re in at the moment, nobody’s happy with it and we’ve got to work really hard to turn it around.
"But the one thing this team has is strength and depth in talent, and we’ll come back.”
Red Bull's struggles have also seen their advantage at the top of the constructors' standings evaporate, and are now only eight points clear of McLaren, with Ferrari 39 points off the pace.
But a return to action next weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix offers the team a chance to bridge the gap to those below them.
Only one driver has achieved more than one victory on the streets of Baku, with that man being Verstappen's team-mate, Sergio Perez, who won in 2021 and 2023.
The Mexican has scored the most points on the circuit (100), with only a Lewis Hamilton victory and fastest lap being enough to overtake the Red Bull driver (75).
But Perez has now gone 10 consecutive Grands Prix without finishing in the top five of the standings, the same number of times as in his previous 41 races in Formula 1.
However, Horner is optimistic that solutions can be put in place prior to the upcoming double header of Azerbaijan and Singapore.
“The most important thing is understanding the issue, and I think there are certain fixes that potentially can be introduced, perhaps not the resolve the whole issue but address some of it,” Horner said.
“I think we have a two-week period before Baku and Singapore and then we have another mini-break where we can work in-between Singapore and Austin, so this time now is crucial.”
Bearman to replace suspended Magnussen in Baku
Oliver Bearman will replace the suspended Kevin Magnussen for Haas at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix following his incident at Monza last weekend.
Magnussen, who finished 10th at the Italian Grand Prix, was handed a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points after a clash with Alpine's Pierre Gasly.
The Dane was subsequently banned for one race after reaching the maximum 12 penalty points on his Super Licence within the space of a year.
Magnussen is the first driver since Romain Grosjean back in 2012 to recieve a ban after the Frenchman caused a multi-car incident at the Belgian Grand Prix.
With Bearman part of Haas' all-new driver line-up next year alongside Esteban Ocon, it provides an opportunity to familiarise himself with the car he will be driving in 2025.
The 19-year-old made his Formula 1 debut earlier this year when he stood-in for the unwell Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Bearman finished in seventh place, scoring points on his first start for Ferrari and is looking forward to the challenge of Baku's street circuit next week.
“It’s definitely more of a challenge stepping in to race as a reserve driver, with limited prep-time and so on," Bearman said.
"But I’m in the fortunate position of having done it earlier in the year with Ferrari, so I can at least call on that experience.
"I’ve also had four FP1 sessions with the Haas F1 Team in the VF-24 this season, so undoubtedly, that will also prove to be valuable in tackling the full race weekend.
"The team is in good form at the moment and I’ll do my best to be prepared with the time we have available.
"The aim is to get out there and have a solid weekend in Azerbaijan.”
Team Principal Ayao Komatsu added: “I’m excited that Ollie will be driving the VF-24 alongside Nico in Baku.
"He’s already shown great promise in his FP1 outings and post-season test, and he performed very well when he drove for Scuderia Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, picking up points in the process.
"This is another excellent opportunity for both Ollie and the team to work together, this time throughout an entire race weekend, and he couldn’t ask for better teammate than Nico to provide him with a reference.”
Aston Martin are 'doing something really wrong', insists Alonso
Fernando Alonso insisted that Aston Martin are "doing something really wrong" after missing out on the top 10 at Monza despite Kevin Magnussen's penalty.
Alonso, who ended up outside the points for only the sixth time this season at the Italian Grand Prix, finished less than two tenths of a second behind the Dane's Haas.
Magnussen was handed a 10-second penalty after a collision with Alpine's Pierre Gasly, with the Spaniard and Williams' Alex Albon chasing hard to get within that margin.
However, Alonso's two-stop strategy saw him playing catch up after being jumped by the one-stopping Albon, with the 28-year-old finishing the race in ninth.
Alonso has scored in the past two races, while Aston Martin look assured of fifth in the constructors’ standings this season, being 40 points ahead of RB.
But Alonso couldn’t hide his frustration after the race at battling with cars lower down the field, having been fighting at the top end of the grid only 12 months ago.
“I hope we understand things that we are doing wrong, as definitely we are doing something really wrong and we get better for Baku,” Alonso said.
Alonso's team-mate, Lance Stroll, propped up the field after taking a third pit stop in an optimistic bid to deny anyone in the top 10 the fastest lap bonus point.
But their attention will now turn to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and should both Aston Martin's drivers score at least 14 points in Baku, they will become the 14th team to reach the 500-point mark in the history of Formula 1 (currently 486), also equalling Toro Rosso's record (500).
After Aston Martin's recent struggles, both Alonso and Stroll have hope that the team can entice former Red Bull designer Adrian Newey to the team after emerging as one of the front runners to claim his signature in recent weeks.
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