Fernando Alonso's car lost a wheel during his out-lap, after the Renault mechanics were unable to properly fit a wheel nut at his R29's front right-hand tire during the pit stop. The incident did not result in any victims, but the stewards found it necessary to hand the Enstone based team a one-race ban for it.
While some of the F1 drivers & commentators – Marc Gene and Martin Brundle being the most vocal – have argued that the FIA wanted to make an example out of Renault following the latest safety-related incidents in motor racing, Alguersuari echoed those comments in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais.
“It is stupid and unjust,” said the Toro Rosso driver, referring to the penalty.
Renault F1 team have already lodged an appeal to that decision that will be judged by the International Court of Appeal (ICA) on August 17th. The decision of the ruling body will be announced on August 18, only 3 days before the official start of the European Grand Prix, at Valencia.
If Renault will not be cleared for race at the Spanish street circuit, this will be the first time a Formula One team would be suspended from contesting in a Grand Prix since the BAR incident in 2005. Then, both Jenson Button and Takuma Sato were banned from F1 racing for 2 events after BAR ran underweight cars during the San Marino Grand Prix, at Imola.
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