24/07/2011
NEWS STORY
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Fernando Alonso was given the all-clear following today's German GP, following fears that his car may not have had the mandatory one litre of fuel on board.
The Spaniard was ordered to pull to the side of the track on the slow down lap, his team advising him that he did not have enough fuel on board to make it back to the pits.
Under the 2011 regulations, all cars must have at least one litre of fuel on board at the post race inspection or face disqualification.
Speaking to reporters after the event, team boss Stefano Domenicali confirmed that the Spaniard's car had the mandatory amount of fuel and consequently the result stood.
"They did the fuel sample as after the race there had to be one litre of fuel," he said. "It is all done. Nothing has happened. It was just a precaution."
In a move that brought back fond memories for race fans, seeing Alonso parked by the side of the track Mark Webber slowed down to give the Ferrari driver a ride back to the pits - Ayrton Senna sitting on the back of Nigel Mansell's Williams following a similar incident at Silverstone being a truly iconic image for fans of a certain age.
Thankfully, the gesture did not land Webber in trouble, such moves now widely considered to be a breach of the regulation that requires all drivers to return straight to parc ferme at the end of events.
However, the Australian's gesture left the Spaniard just a little suspicious. "The team asked me to cut the engine as a precaution and luckily Mark was alongside me and stopped to give me a lift," he said. "I don't know how he knew I was shutting off the engine; maybe he has a radio link to my engineer!"
To check out our German GP gallery, click here.