As if complaints about the track layout weren't enough, the first Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit provoked an unseemly spat between the two home heroes. Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz were all smiles before the race, but the cordiality lasted only until lap 14, when Alonso was attacking Sainz for 17th place.
Alonso was angling to get a run on Sainz on the right-hand side on the approach to the Turn 5 chicane when Sainz drifted right to take the racing line. Given the proximity of the walls, Alonso had nowhere to go, so Sainz's rear-right wheel took the Aston Martin's front-wing endplate off.
