Aston Martin get hefty fines for unusual F1 driver breach

Aston Martin have been fined €20,000 after Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failed to attend a fan engagement activity at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Neither Alonso or Stroll appeared during Friday’s fan zone activity before opening practice at the Yas Marina Circuit, with Aston Martin believing the pair were exempt from attending as they were not taking part in FP1.

Both drivers sat out of the first hour of practice on Friday so that Aston Martin could complete their mandatory rookie running for 2025, with Jak Crawford and Cian Shields taking part in FP1.

F1’s governing body the FIA actually issued €25,000 fines to Aston Martin for each offence, but in both cases €15,000 of the fine has been suspended for 12 months.

The FIA say this is because Aston Martin have agreed to fulfil some additional fan engagement activities throughout the remainder of the season-ending round.

What the stewards said?

“The Stewards received a report from the Media Delegate that the driver of Car 14 (Fernando Alonso), did not attend the Friday Fan Engagement activity," the stewards noted.

"The Stewards heard from the team representatives and the driver who advised that he had been told by the team that because he was not required for driving duties during FP1, he would not be required at the Fan Engagement activity and that instead, a reserve and/or other driver representing the team, would attend.

“Whilst acknowledging the obligation to appear is sometimes inconvenient to drivers especially in cases such as this where there was a 5 hour period between the Fan Engagement and FP2, the Stewards also acknowledge that fans are the core of Formula 1 and the importance of this is recognised by the FIA through the inclusion of Article 19 in its Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.

“In particular the Stewards noted the submission from Formula 1 contained in the report from the FIA Media Delegate, that many fans had waited for several hours in the heat, to see the drivers at the Fan Engagement.

“Accordingly, the non appearance was the result of a failure by the competitor, and therefore a significant fine is imposed, and it is recommended that the proceeds of this fine be allocated at the FIA’s discretion, to the encouragement of fans in this region to become involved in motorsport as officials or by engaging in grassroots motorsport activities.

“The Stewards however, have considered and accepted the proposal of the competitor to attend the fan zone this weekend and give signed team caps to all fans wearing Aston Martin apparel and to select 2 fans for a garage tour, view a session from the garage and meet both drivers for a photo opportunity. The Stewards require a report from the competitor, verifying that the proposal has been implemented.

“In view of the above, we have decided to suspend the majority of the penalty.”