Formula 1

Stroll given Mexico grid penalty for Alonso incident

by Scott Mitchell-Malm
2 min read

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Lance Stroll has been given a three-place grid penalty for next week’s race in Mexico as punishment for causing a dramatic collision with Fernando Alonso in the United States Grand Prix.

Alonso lined up to overtake Stroll on the back straight of the Circuit of the Americas after a safety car restart.

When he jinked out of the Aston Martin’s slipstream to pass Stroll on the left, Stroll reacted by moving to block him.

They made contact and Alonso’s Alpine was sent briefly airborne while Stroll’s car looped into the barriers.

Stroll has been deemed predominantly to blame by the stewards and given a three-place grid drop for the Mexican Grand Prix.

He claimed after the race that Alonso could have moved more to the left.

“I definitely moved late but there was a big difference in speed, so I was judging more or less, thinking where he is behind me,” said Stroll.

“It’s not like I hit the side of his car, the impact was still his front wing to the rear of my car.

“I gave him plenty of room on the left of the track so it’s not like I squeezed him against the wall or anything like that.

“He could have moved earlier and gone more to the left, he didn’t have to get so close to me either.”

Stroll retired from the grand prix and therefore wasted a great opportunity to score big points for the team and help Aston Martin leapfrog Alfa Romeo into sixth in the championship.

Astonishingly Alonso was able to continue and benefited from an aggressive strategy call – not pitting again after his stop for post-crash repairs – to finish seventh.

He was conciliatory towards Stroll, calling the clash a “racing incident” caused by them both moving “basically at the same time to the left”.

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