Fernando Alonso contests his penalty at the Australian Grand Prix after Russell’s crash
During the Australian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso was penalized following George Russell's accident at the end of the race. The Aston Martin driver believes that his maneuver was not dangerous and says he is "disappointed" to receive this penalty, which costs him two places and three points on his license.
A sanction that doesn’t go down well. Fernando Alonso is not digesting the 20-second penalty that was imposed on him on Sunday by the stewards after the race, for him, his driving was not dangerous and any other driver would have acted like him.
In the final laps of the Australian Grand Prix, the battle was fierce between Mercedes driver George Russell and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. Fighting for sixth place, Alonso braked 100 meters earlier at the start of turn 6 on the second-to-last lap. George Russell then found himself in the dirty air of the Aston Martin and spun out in the middle of the track.
According to the FIA statement, after examining the video evidence and hearing testimonies from the drivers and team representatives, the stewards concluded that Alonso had committed an infraction of Article 33.4 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.
The double world champion acknowledged his change of driving. Alonso explained to the stewards that he intended to approach turn 6 differently, by lifting off the throttle earlier and carrying less speed into the corner, in order to have better exit speed, detailed the stewards’ report.
Mike Krack, director of the Aston Martin team, said on Sky Sports: “It was surprising to see him drop to eighth place with the post-race penalty, but we have to accept the decision.”
Alonso contests the decision
Fernando Alonso spoke shortly after the announcement of his penalty. He believes that any other driver could have acted in the same way. He told crash.net: « Georges caught up with me quickly, I knew he was coming.”
Alonso did not hesitate to express his dissatisfaction: “It’s disappointing to receive a penalty from the stewards for a tough but fair race. Yet I am happy that George is okay. It wasn’t pleasant to see his car in the middle of the track,” he told Sky Sports.
The Spaniard continues on X (formerly Twitter): « With over 20 years of F1 experience, with epic duels under my belt like Imola 2005/2006 or Brazil 2023, I can affirm that changing lines, sacrificing entry speed to have good corner exits is part of the art of motorsport ».
We never drive at 100% every lap because we have to save fuel, tires, brakes, etc. So being accused of not braking at the same spot every lap is a bit surprising, he stresses.
After Melbourne, Fernando Alonso is in eighth place in the driver’s standings with a two-point gap behind George Russell.
