The stewards at Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix were ‘having a Heineken’ instead of watching the race properly, according to a furious Fernando Alonso.
The two-time world champion accused the stewards of enjoying the beer supplied by Formula One’s sponsors after an incident in which Briton Jolyon Palmer passed him, by cutting out the second chicane.
He believed the stewards misread the incident and did not react appropriately, launching into a tirade of radio messages to his McLaren-Honda team.
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The incident had enabled Palmer of Renault to take 12th position in the race – which he refused to give back, as is conventional when a driver cuts out a chicane.
Alonso of McLaren-Honda in action during qualifying for the Italian GP. Photo: EPA
The stewards eventually caught up with events and gave Palmer a five-second penalty before he retired with mechanical problems.
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When Alonso learned of the Englishman’s exit, he told his team it was ‘karma’.
