No action taken after Alonso/Heidfeld collision

FIA race stewards confirmed that no penalties will be handed out following the dramatic on-track collision between Fernando Alonso and Nick Heidfeld in Valencia on Friday. The second practice session clash resulted in a near-roll for the latter who blamed the Spaniard as the Renault driver labelled the shunt as a racing incident.




The episode took place at the final corner of the urban street circuit, Turn 25, as Alonso locked up both front tyres and Heidfeld, who had run deep into the bend, moved to rejoin the racing line; as the BMW's left-rear wheel drove over the Renault's right-front, the former was flicked into the air as the latter lost only a front wing.

With mixed opinions surrounding the incident floating around the paddock later in the day, FIA stewards eventually decided that no further action should be taken. An official FIA report reads:



'The Stewards after hearing the explanation of both the Competitors representatives and the drivers decided that the incident requires no further action.'

The drivers shared views of differing opinions, however:

Nick Heidfeld, BMW: "When Fernando Alonso crashed into me I had an early end to the session. Such a crash is really unnecessary during free practice; I saw him in the rear view mirror, locking up his wheels, and tried to open the door for him but he went straight into me and I almost rolled."

Fernando Alonso, Renault: "The incident with Nick Heidfeld this afternoon was a normal incident that can happen during racing or free practice."

Source: GP Update