‘Hamilton was in the gravel and there was stress’ – Alonso questions aborted Bahrain start

SEPANG – Fernando Alonso wants the FIA to explain why the Bahrain Grand Prix was red-flagged when Lewis Hamilton and other drivers suffered power unit issues on a wet formation lap, given Aston Martin’s high rate of PU-related retirements.

Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia descended into chaos as the rain, which was always said to be 10 minutes away throughout the race weekend, finally arrived in the build-up to the Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso questions aborted Bahrain Grand Prix start

With torrential rain falling and thunder and lightning in the mix, the race start was delayed.

When the track action began with a pair of formation laps behind the Safety Car, Max Verstappen, Hamilton and others reported a lack of acceleration.

But while the field slowed down behind pole-sitter Verstappen, which meant he remained P1 on the track, Hamilton briefly stopped on the back straight as Ferrari told him there was “a software issue we’re trying to solve”.

And he wasn’t the only Ferrari-powered car in trouble, as Haas and Cadillac also had issues. So too did Racing Bulls, Audi and Alpine; team which do not run under Ferrari power.

The start procedure was suspended as the cars returned to the pit lane, with some, such as Verstappen, having completed two formation laps while others had covered just one.

The grid order was reset for the start, with Hamilton – who had dropped almost to the back of the pack after his stoppage on the formation lap – allowed to return to P2 behind Verstappen.

Alonso says it was a “bit weird” that there was a red flag when only some teams were suffering power unit software issues.

After all, Aston Martin and Honda have had their fair share – if not more – of power unit issues without Race Control stopping a race to help them.

“I don’t know what happened; they’ll have to explain it,” Alonso told the Spanish media at the Sepang circuit.

“I’ve had retirements in the middle of races this year, and the race was never stopped because we retired, but it seems that Hamilton was in the gravel and there was stress.

“They had to stop the race so he could rejoin; it’s all been a bit weird. I suppose they’ll explain it to us in Singapore.

“There’s too much technology; in the end, the spectator doesn’t appreciate it.”

Doubling down on his sarcasm about the race being red-flagged for some drivers, but not others, the Spaniard told PlanetF1.com and other accredited media: “I think I’ve had 50 per cent DNFs this year. They never stopped the race for us.

“So yeah, there are eight races to go. If we give this percentage, in four races we will DNF, and we will see four red flags for sure.”

But while the FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis later explained that it was a software “bug” that caused the chaotic scenes, Alonso’s fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz was not impressed.

After all, he says, the FIA and everyone else who agreed to the new engine formula should’ve foreseen this issue.

More on the Bahrain GP aborted start

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“The problem is that during the formation lap there was an issue with the software, and you’ve already seen the disaster,” said the Williams driver.

“It’s not today’s fault, but the fault of whoever decided four or five years ago that this was the direction to take for Formula 1.

“When you rely on too much software, too much control from race direction to cut power between wet and dry and change the maps, this can happen to you.

“How simple, beautiful, and calm everything was before, and now there are too many complications.”

Alonso finished the Grand Prix in eighth place, recording Aston Martin’s best result of the championship, while Sainz was down in 17th place.

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