Ferrari fined for Alonso's illegal DRS use
Scuderia Ferrari has been fined 15000 EUR because Fernando Alonso repeatedly used DRS during the Hungarian Grand Prix at moments where its use was not allowed.
The Spaniard was found to have used DRS 3 times when not within a second of a car ahead. It was found that the car was in pre-race setting, enabled Alonso to use DRS also when it would not be available during the race.
The stewards' statement reads: "The DRS enabling system was not changed by the team from the pre-race to the race setting. The driver therefore incorrectly received 'DRS enabled' messages and reacted to them (when not entitled to) on three occasions. As soon as the team became aware of the problem they informed the driver to only use DRS when told to do so by the team.
"Whilst a small sporting advantage (less than one second over the entire race) was gained, the team argued #3 also suffered a disadvantage by being unable to use DRS on every legitimate occasion."
Because the team is deemed ultimately responsible for complying with the sporting regulations, Ferrari was fined and Alonso escaped a time penalty.
