Fernando Alonso’s 2022 Canadian Grand Prix went from good to bad to worse after the former two-time Formula One world champion was penalized for illegally defending against Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas on the final lap of the race.
Alpine’s Alonso had a terrific qualifying session in damp Montreal weather and unexpectedly vaulted himself into the first row to start alongside Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – the pole-sitter – but the 40-year-old Spaniard was easily beaten off the line by the younger Verstappen and then proceeded to gradually fade away over the course of the race and crossed the line in seventh, behind teammate Esteban Ocon.
However, on the final lap, Alonso was weaving to defend against Bottas and race stewards investigated and penalized him for making too many changes of direction in a straight line, issuing him a five-second time penalty, which dropped him below both Bottas and Bottas’ Alfa Romeo teammate, Guanyu Zhou.
Alonso blamed engine problems as the reason for his gradual departure from contention in the race.