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ALONSO Fernando (spa), Aston Martin F1 Team AMR23, portrait during the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023, 2nd round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship, WM, Weltmeisterschaft from March 17 to 19, 2023 on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – F1 – SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 2023 DPPI/Panoramic PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxFRAxITAxBEL 20230318_IMGL0096.JPG
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/WhatsApp-Image-2023-03-20-at-12.43.57-AM.jpeg?width=600)
via Imago
ALONSO Fernando (spa), Aston Martin F1 Team AMR23, portrait during the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023, 2nd round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship, WM, Weltmeisterschaft from March 17 to 19, 2023 on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – F1 – SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 2023 DPPI/Panoramic PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxFRAxITAxBEL 20230318_IMGL0096.JPG
El Plan ‘almost’ worked and the parc ferme was rejoicing with an almost chant of “Hombre Alonso” coming from the men in Green. The team that finished seventh in the world championship got a second chance in two weeks to stand below the podium to cheer for their Matador, Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard scored an iconic HUNDREDTH podium, and the world seemed to be in a happy place. But 10 seconds halted their happiness. In a disastrous turn of events, we saw a repeat of Esteban Ocon‘s penalty nightmare with his ex-teammate now at Aston Martin.
Fernando Alonso was spotted to have been parked incorrectly when began the race. Being parked to the left of his grid box, he picked up a 5-second penalty. While the world rejoiced in the fact that the man was leading a Grand Prix for the first time since Germany in 2012, the tensions began building up, but in a not-so-Alonso manner, the man stayed calm to put his head down and push.
🚨 Alonso receives a 10 second time penalty for serving a penalty incorrectly 🚨#SaudiArabianGP 🇸🇦
— Autosport (@autosport) March 19, 2023
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Meanwhile, the Red Bull Golden boy had cruised past the field and overtook Alonso, but the self-proclaimed anti-hero held onto his third place. When he did grab it, he gave a heartwarming interview and took the trophy, but just couldn’t take it home.
Fans lose their calm seeing Fernando Alonso handed another penalty
So we witnessed an Ocon repeat where the man from Spain got a 10-second penalty minutes after the podium ceremony. Stacked-up penalties for the same offense of incorrect parking at the grid position are becoming a thing now. The penalty which came Alonso’s way has left the fans infuriated. Take a look at some of the comments from F1 Twitter:
This is absurd, FIA gone mental ffs
— Rudy⚒️ (@GodlyRoos) March 19, 2023
Alonso wants to be Ocon so bad smh
— elle (@deirdrskye) March 19, 2023
Incredible, they didn't have 32 laps to look at the images….
— One Individuo (@oneindividuo) March 19, 2023
Embarrassing stuff.
— Gianmarco Fiduci (@GFiduci) March 19, 2023
Lamer than lame!!!!! Why was this after the race?!?!?!
— Dave 'The Doctor' North (@DaveNorth) March 19, 2023
What the actual fuck
— karthik gokul (@karthikgokul9) March 19, 2023
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Insane they couldn’t sort this before the race finished 🤡 🤡
— Ellie (@teamlham) March 19, 2023
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Watch This Story: F1 Drivers Threaten Saudi Arabian GP Boycott After Missile Attacks
What are your thoughts on Fernando’s podium being taken away? Let us know in the comments below.