F1
Nate Saunders, General Editor, F1 6y

Fernando Alonso, Toyota disqualified after latest World Endurance Championship win

Formula 1, AutoRacing

Fernando Alonso's Toyota team has been disqualified after winning the latest round of the World Endurance Championship at Silverstone.

Just days after the announcement he will not be racing in Formula One in 2019, it appeared as though Alonso and his Toyota teammates Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, who won the Le Mans 24 Hours, had continued where they had left off at that event in June. The trio recorded a dominant victory in the No.8 Toyota car., ahead of their teammates in the No.7 entry.

However, in the hours after the race it was revealed both the No.8 and No.7 Toyota cars had failed a scrutineering test, meaning both were excluded from the result. The ruling stated the No.8 car had "deflected 6 mm on the right hand side and 8 mm on the left hand side under the specified 2500 N load at the front of the skid block". A similar infringement was found on the No.7 car. 

In a statement, Toyota said: "Both cars suffered damage to their respective front floor areas during the race due to impacts against the new kerbs at Silverstone. Regrettably, this also caused both cars to fail deflection tests in post-race scrutineering. As a result, race stewards disqualified both cars."

That handed the victory to the privateer Rebellion entry, moving that team to within two points of the No.8 car at the top of the standings. Toyota has the right to appeal the disqualification.

Alonso has signed up to contest every World Endurance Championship race in 2018 after being granted permission by his F1 team, McLaren, at the start of the year. The schedule is part of his quest to claim the Triple Crown -- winning Le Mans means he is one step closer to doing so.

The final piece of that achievement is the Indy 500, which has raised speculation he will return to the event next season without any F1 commitments to clash. He is reportedly due to take part in an IndyCar road course test in October.

Alonso will return to F1 duty this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix, where the 2018 season resumes after the summer break. 

^ Back to Top ^