• Hungarian Grand Prix

Alonso escapes penalty over DRS

ESPN Staff
July 28, 2013 « Vettel disappointed with third | Strategy paid off - Webber »
Fernando Alonso retains his fifth place © Associated Press
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Fernando Alonso avoided a post-race penalty after it emerged his DRS was activated illegally during the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Following the conclusion of the race - in which Alonso finished fifth - a technical report from the FIA stated that Alonso's DRS had been activated on three occasions when he was more than one second behind the car in front. It emerged that Ferrari had failed to switch the DRS from its pre-race to race setting, resulting in Alonso being incorrectly informed that DRS was enabled.

As soon as Ferrari realised the issue, Alonso was informed to only activate DRS when instructed to by the team. The gain on the three occasions amounted to less than a one second sporting advantage, with Ferrari arguing that its subsequent solution actually put it at a disadvantage.

The stewards found that there had been a breach of Article 27.5 b) of the sporting regulations but decided against penalising Alonso, with Ferrari fined €15,000 as it is the competitors responsibility to ensure the system is working correctly.

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