Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso was handed a penalty for speeding during the Austrian Grand Prix at the wheel of his Aston Martin.
The Spaniard has struggled with his Adrian Newey-designed AMR26 so far this season thanks to the partnership between Aston Martin and Honda getting off to a less than ideal start under the new regulations.
But the 44-year-old was revitalised when speaking to the media on Saturday in Spielberg, explaining how he finally felt there were positives to take away from qualifying.
“Everyone is working flat out, we are at the back of the grid, but everyone is giving their 100 per cent as if we’re fighting for podiums, so this is encouraging and this is also inspiring,” he said. Quite the motivational talk ahead of the eighth round of the championship.
His team-mate Lance Stroll suffered a fifth DNF of the season after retiring with a suspected ERS issue, and even though Alonso managed to cross the line, he did so as the last of the drivers who remained in the fight after being hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
Why is there a pitlane speed limit in F1?
After four DNFs in Sunday’s race, Alonso finished the Austrian GP plum last in P18, three laps behind.
He was also hit with a five-second penalty from the stewards, with the FIA confirming after the race: “Car 14 exceeded the pit lane speed limit which is set at 80 km/h for this event by 0.1km/h.”
The pitlane speed limit applies between the entry line and exit line, and there is a small sign shown to indicate the limit which sits adjacent to the pitlane entry line to serve as a reminder.
The speed limit is often tweaked in the interest of safety depending on the circuit, and at the Monaco GP earlier this month, it was reduced to 60 km/h.
For the Red Bull Ring however, drivers had to adhere to the standard limit of 80 km/h so as to not cause harm or injury to those in the pits.
As Alonso was found to have exceeded the pitlane speed limit under race conditions in Austria, he was slapped with a time penalty.
If a driver speeds during practice or qualifying however, their team are fined €100 for every kph that they go above the limit, up to a total amount of €1,000.
