Alpine Fined €5,000 Following an Unusual Error on Gasly’s Car During Sprint Qualifying

Pierre Gasly's car left the pits with an antenna cover still attached, a part that came loose once on the track during the formation laps. FIA stewards fined the Alpine team €5,000 during the Sprint Qualifying session for the Chinese Grand Prix. The issue: Pierre Gasly's car left the pits with a protective antenna cover still attached during the formation laps. The incident occurred on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m., before the car entered the track. A part left on the car
According to the document published by the stewards, Alpine's No. 10 car left its garage with a protective cover over the radio antenna still in place. The car then entered the track for the formation laps with this component still attached.

The cover eventually came loose once the car was on the track, before being retrieved by officials at the track side. After analyzing video footage, onboard footage, and after hearing from Pierre Gasly as well as a team representative, the stewards confirmed that the recovered object was indeed the Alpine car's antenna cover.
An error linked to communication issues For his part, Pierre Gasly explained that he had not seen the cover, as his line of sight was blocked by the halo. The French driver claims he immediately alerted his team when he saw a part detach from the car.

The Alpine team indicated that it was experiencing radio communication issues while preparing the car for the formation laps. In this context, the fact that the antenna cover had not been removed went unnoticed until the car left the garage.

It was only once the car was on the pit lane that the team realized the problem. A decision was then made to let the car proceed to the grid, believing that the part—attached to two antennas—was unlikely to come loose. A car deemed “in an unsafe condition”
The stewards, however, determined that the car had been released in an unsafe condition. Even though the part in question was neither heavy nor bulky, it could have struck another car or a driver if it had come loose, posing a potential risk of damage or injury.

The stewards also considered that the team should have instructed the driver to stop before returning to the track once the error was detected. In light of these factors, the FIA decided to fine Alpine €5,000, a penalty deemed consistent with those applied in similar situations.

A financial penalty that remains modest, but which serves as a reminder that in Formula 1, even the smallest detail overlooked in the pits can quickly become a regulatory issue…