WAS IT 'UNFAIR' NOT TO PENALISE STRICKEN F1 CARS IN MALAYSIA?

Fernando Alonso isn't buying the FIA's reset after the Malaysia formation-lap chaos. When multiple cars hit a software bug on the warm-up lap — including Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari — race control aborted the start and sent everyone back to the original grid order. Problem is, Alonso had already picked off Hamilton's stricken car and stood to restart 11th, on the edge of the points.

"They never stopped the race for us," Alonso said, pointing to Aston Martin's 37.5% DNF rate this season. "I think it was unfair, 100%."

The distinction matters: Alonso's retirements came from Aston Martin Honda reliability failures. This was an FIA-supplied software glitch, beyond team control, which is why the regulations allowed the grid reset. Both Aston Martin trackside boss Mike Krack and Mercedes' Bradley Lord backed the call as common sense — the race hadn't technically started yet.

Alonso finished eighth anyway, but the precedent sticks. Next time the software breaks, the grid gets a mulligan.