Penalties for Ocon and Alonso: what does the FIA Sporting Regulations say?
After two races, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso received the same penalties due to a poor placement on the starting grid. But what does the FIA sporting regulations say about this? We will explain everything to you.

During the season opener race in Bahrain, Esteban Ocon received a five-second penalty due to incorrect positioning of his car on the starting grid. The same penalty was applied to Fernando Alonso in Jeddah. However, in order to understand these penalties, one must delve into the sporting regulations of the FIA.
The Alpine and Aston Martin drivers both violated Article 48 of the FIA Sporting Regulations, particularly paragraph C which states that one of the penalties from Article 54.3 shall be imposed on any driver for placing any part of the contact zone of their front tires outside the lines (front and sides) at the time of the start signal. The penalties from Article 54.3 are determined based on the severity of the incident. In this case, it will be paragraph (a) which imposes a five-second penalty. The driver must enter the pit lane, stop at their designated spot for at least five seconds, and then rejoin the race, as stated in the article.
However, both drivers were facing a problem: their engineers did not wait for the five-second penalty before touching the car. As a result, both drivers received an additional ten-second penalty. Weighed down by these “punishments,” Esteban Ocon decided to abandon the race from the very first one. However, Alonso’s penalty was later cancelled, after being reviewed by George Russell.
The controversy surrounding Alonso’s penalty
At the arrival of the Jeddah Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso climbs onto the third step of the podium. But a few minutes later, a ten-second penalty was imposed on him. The reason: a mechanic’s jack directly touched his car when he arrived in the pits, contrary to the regulations.
Article 54.4 of the Sporting Regulations states that « if a car is immobilized in the pit lane due to a penalty under articles 54.3a) or 54.3b), work can only be carried out on it once the car has served the full duration of the penalty ». The Aston Martin team immediately appealed this decision, claiming that the mechanics did wait the five seconds before touching the car and that the FIA acted too late. In the end, the Federation reversed its decision and revoked the Spanish driver’s penalty, allowing him to reclaim his third place finish, which marked his 100th podium.
Several drivers have complained about not being able to see the grid lines from their single-seaters. The FIA announced a clarification of the rules before the next Grand Prix in Australia, in order to adjust the penalty system.