Alonso and Hamilton finished behind Max Verstappen in Montreal, but only after the former McLaren teammates suffered a near miss in the pit lane
Formula One stewards at the Canadian Grand Prix investigated both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso over a pit lane incident during the race.
It happened in the early stages during a safety car period. The cause was Hamilton’s teammate George Russell, who crashed into a wall and left debris on the track.
Neither of them missed the chance of a cheap pit stop. They had dueled on the track and both Hamilton and Alonso went to their respective garages to get new tyres.
In their haste to get going again, both flew out of their cages. The Aston Martin driver appeared to have gotten away first, but the Mercedes pushed forward anyway.
There was no contact, but it was close. Hamilton was told by his race engineer that he was “close ahead” but Alonso seemed to disagree as he apparently waved his hand in frustration.
However, the Spaniard had the last laugh. He overtook his old rival again on track and, despite careful braking and fuel supplies, was able to keep the Mercedes in check to finish second.
The race director noticed the near-accident in the pit lane and reported the incident to the stewards. It was investigated but the FIA confirmed in a document that no action would be taken against any of the drivers.
The document said: “The stewards reviewed external video and video and audio evidence inside the car. We note that while car 14 required minor braking, in our view there was no risk of collision or the need for significant evasive action.”
After the race both were satisfied. Hamilton said: “It’s been a great weekend for us. We’re making slow progress. Aston Martins have taken a small step forward with the upgrades, but we bring more with us. But just having that consistency is great.”
And Alonso said of his own situation: “We were hoping to challenge the Red Bull a bit more but we lost a place with Lewis at the start and it was a battle with Mercedes. Lewis was pushing the whole race so I didn’t do it.” I had one lap to relax a bit. It was a good fight.”
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