Spanish driver Fernando Alonso’s car was thrown off the ground when it collided with Lance Stroll at the US GP on 23 October.
The accident happened on lap 23. Alonso approached from behind and tried to overtake Stroll when he had a better speed. However, the Canadian suddenly turned the wheel to the left, then collided with his senior. Both cars then hit the barrier.
When the car was brought to the pits for repairs, Alonso questioned Stroll’s sudden left turn, which left him unable to react. After the race, the referees met with the two drivers to question them about the accident. As a result, Stroll was deducted three starting positions for the next race – the Mexican GP – and two points on his driver’s license.
“It is clear that car 18 was slow to react to car 14’s overtake. The referees determined that the main fault in this situation belongs to car 18,” the referees announced.
After the collision, Stroll had to retire, but Alonso was still able to race. He even climbed from 17th to seventh to help Alpine lead McLaren in the constructors’ standings. The accident attracted even more attention because Alonso will join Aston Martin next season and become Stroll’s teammate.
“Five minutes ago, I was fine. But now I’m a little sore. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see if everything is okay,” the Spaniard said about his condition after the accident.
At the 2022 US GP, Max Verstappen finished first, thereby matching the record of 13 victories in a season. Legendary Michael Schumacher did this in 2004, as did Sebastian Vettel in 2013. The Dutchman has three races left to set a new record. Verstappen’s victory also brought Red Bull the constructors’ championship, their first since 2013.