Alonso/Massa clash goes unpunished by FIA

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The stewards have deemed the clash between Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa late in the United States Grand Prix to be a racing incident.

Alonso attempted to overtake Massa at Turn 16, with the McLaren on the inside but making contact with the Williams, causing both to run wide on the exit of the corner. With the incident taking place late in the race, the stewards investigated the clash after the chequered flag and decided against taking action against either driver.

"The Stewards examined the evidence and conclude that no driver was wholly or predominately to blame for the collision," the stewards decision read.

Alonso went on to overtake Carlos Sainz and finish fifth, while Massa suffered a puncture as a result of the contact and crossed the line seventh.

Williams chief technical officer Pat Symonds declared himself unhappy with the decision, believing Alonso also gained an advantage passing Sainz later on in the race.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.