BARCELONA - Fernando Alonso escaped punishment on Saturday when his Ferrari team were fined following a narrow escape from a collision in the pit-lane during qualifying for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

Ferrari were fined $20,000 after the race stewards decided that the Italian team had released Alonso unsafely ahead of German Nico Rosberg's Mercedes car.

Rosberg had to brake heavily and take avoiding action to avert a collision - and he called for a penalty for the two-time world champion and his team.

But Alonso said: "First of all I didn't see Nico, unfortunately - the angle of vision is not perfect to see anyone coming down the pitlane, so you rely on your mechanic.
"Then if there is a penalty for this, we need to reconsider some of the Grand Prix we've had so far, in terms of penalties in the pit-lane.

"And third, in case of a penalty, since it's a safety thing in the pit-lane it's normally a fine for the team, so hopefully there isn't any of these cases."

Luckily for Alonso, the stewards followed his thinking and Ferrari - rather than their driver - were sanctioned.