Fernando Alonso revisits ‘I’m Spanish’ dig as FIA announce verdict on Hulkenberg incident

Fernando Alonso has reiterated his “I’m Spanish” dig aimed at F1’s race stewards only for Nico Hulkenberg to be penalised for their Lap 22 clash at the sprint in Austria.

Racing for 14th place at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday, Hulkenberg made an audacious attempt to take the position off Alonso only to force the Spaniard off the track.

Nico Hulkenberg has been penalised for his clash with Fernando Alonso

Alonso lost two positions as Daniel Ricciardo also snuck through and made his thoughts crystal clear.

Speaking to the official F1 website, he said: “Nothing really to say, two laps from the end and fighting for 16th.

“It was probably borderline. If I turned in the corner we would’ve crashed.

“But I’m Spanish, this is a sprint weekend and I don’t want to be in trouble.”

Alonso’s “I’m Spanish” comment relates to his Miami GP sprint penalty where the Aston Martin driver accused F1’s stewards of being biased against Spanish drivers after Lewis Hamilton escaped a penalty when they tussled in the Saturday race.

However, this time the stewards did issue a penalty, time and penalty points for Hulkenberg.

More from the sprint race in Spielberg

👉 Austrian GP: Max Verstappen holds off the McLaren team-mates in ‘spicy’ Sprint thriller

👉 The updated Drivers’ and Constructors’ standings after the Austrian GP Sprint race

The Haas driver was hit with a 10-second time penalty, which dropped him to 19th in the official classification, and he was also given two penalty points.

The stewards’ verdict read: “The driver of Car 27 attempted an overtake on Car 14 into Turn 3 but locked up and missed the apex.

“The Car understeered to the very edge of the track, thereby preventing Car 14 from turning in and forcing the other driver off track.”

The penalty points are the only two on Hulkenberg’s super licence with any driver who amasses 12 over a 12-month rolling period automatically banned for one race.

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