F1 major body the FIA has handed the Ferrari team a fine of $20,000 (£13,500) after Fernando Alonso was released straight into the lane of Nico Rosberg's Mercedes during qualifying in Spain on Sunday. Among every team having one garage in the pit lane, it is the responsibility of their technicians to make sure that no traffic is approaching when releasing a car into the driving lane.But, with Rosberg having had to brake sharply to avoid a crash, the FIA publicized just over an hour and a half after qualifying that Ferrari had been fined.
"First of all I didn't see Nico, unfortunately," Alonso explained before the punishment was handed out. "The angle of vision from the cars is not perfect, to be able to see anyone coming down the pit lane, so you rely on your mechanics. If there is a penalty for this, then we need to reconsider some of the Grand Prix so far, in terms of penalties for incidents in the pit lane."
