Nico Hülkenberg can quickly write off the sprint part of the Formula 1 in Austria. A mixed sprint qualifying on Friday laid the foundation for an equally mixed sprint race. Only Fernando Alonso ruthlessly pushed Hülkenberg out of the way shortly before the end in the battle for P14. This has consequences afterwards.
The case was heard by the FIA stewards during the lunch break on Saturday in Austria. They ultimately found Hülkenberg guilty of forcing Alonso off the track in a duel. This resulted in ten penalty seconds and two penalty points. P14 became second to last place.
For the stewards, it was a clear case. Hülkenberg had started an ambitious braking maneuver in the uphill hairpin on the 21st of 23 laps, misjudged the situation and slid into the corner next to Alonso with his front wheel stationary. The Aston Martin driver had to open the steering and swerve into the run-off area. This caused Daniel Ricciardo to slip through as well, and Alonso fell back to P16.
“I don’t really have anything to say about it when we’re fighting for P16 with two laps to go,” said Alonso resignedly after the sprint. “He can have it. I think it was borderline. If I turn in, we’ll crash.”
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Alonso, who in turn received the same penalty for an aggressive maneuver on the China weekend (only with even more penalty points), uses the opportunity here for a late little dig at the referee: “I’m Spanish, this is a sprint weekend. I’d better not be the one who gets into trouble.”
Good Haas delights Hülkenberg after the sprint
The sprint was an exercise in frustration for both drivers. Alonso lost a place to Yuki Tsunoda at the start. Hülkenberg, on the other hand, moved up from 17th to 15th on the grid, but then struggled with the turbulent air at the end of a DRS train involving several cars: “It adds up car by car. It felt pretty bad at the very back.”
“Overall it wasn’t too bad, the car felt OK,” says Hülkenberg optimistically. In sprint trim, the Haas actually looked surprisingly good. Not only that, despite the pull, Hülkenberg was able to fight to the end. Kevin Magnussen also came away empty-handed in ninth place, but was the best driver behind the four top teams and was even able to pull away from Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin.
The guilty verdict is of little relevance to Hülkenberg. Since he completed the sprint, the stewards chose the time penalty, which ultimately plays no role. Hülkenberg had no points anyway. The only real consequence he has is the two penalty points. But they are the first two on his account. He is a long way from the twelve required for a race ban.