Fernando Alonso has escaped being disqualified from qualifying or taking on a grid-penalty after he used one of Jenson Button’s tyres during Q1 for the British Grand Prix.
The Spaniard and his McLaren team were called to see the stewards on Saturday evening when it became apparent that one of the tyres he used was allocated to his team-mate, therefore breaking Article 25.4 of the Sporting Regulations.
Such a mistake can carry a severe penalty, but upon explaining the reason behind the mix-up, the stewards have given the team a reprimand and allowed Alonso to start from 17th.
Racing director Eric Boullier explained that the team had expected Button to arrive in the pit-box first, but he was unexpectedly called into the FIA weighbridge, meaning Alonso came first.
“What happened is we had a double pitstop with both cars, and a little bit of confusion coming,” said the Frenchman.
“Fernando passing Jenson, Jenson being stopped at the FIA scale, and one of the tyres of Jenson was put on Fernando’s car.”
