FIA ignored Webber/Alonso rule breach

The FIA turned a blind eye late last Sunday when Fernando Alonso hitched a precarious lift to the Nurburgring pits.

The scene, with the Ferrari driver perched on the sidepod of Mark Webber’s Red Bull after he ran out of fuel, reminded nostalgic spectators of Silverstone 20 years ago, when Nigel Mansell gave Ayrton Senna a near-identical ride.

Technically, however, the jaunt broke the rules.

But an FIA official told Germany’s Speed Week: "Nobody would have understood if we had acted according to the letter of the law. So we didn’t do any punishment."

Australian Webber wrote in his latest BBC column: "I heard that David Coulthard and Martin Brundle were a bit nervous on the BBC commentary that we might be breaking the rules but everyone took the gesture in the spirit it was intended."