Fernando Alonso criticised the FIA for lacking common sense after he was stripped of third place moments after the podium celebrations — and then reinstated at 1am local time in Jeddah. The Aston Martin veteran was farcically bumped down to fourth, with Mercedes’ George Russell briefly promoted. ‘Today is not good for the fans,’ said Alonso, before being reinstated. ‘When you have nearly 35 laps to apply a penalty and you wait until after the podium there is something really wrong in the system. ‘The Mercedes sponsors would love to have been on the podium but for us it is good. If George was really third in the race he should have enjoyed the podium and not me, so I feel sorry for George, Mercedes sponsors and George fans.’ Russell was gracious enough to say: ‘The penalty was harsh on Fernando.’.

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