Fernando Alonso was having a quietly decent race at the Australian GP, taking advantage of DNFs in the top 10. He finished P6 at the chequered flag but a late post-race penalty ruined his result and he got a demotion to P8. It is safe to say, the Spaniard won’t be happy with such a penalty that came for a crash of George Russell, the driver who was behind him chasing. Alonso took to his socials to express his discontent and cite his “20 years of experience” for slamming this penalty from the FIA.
Alonso cited, “A bit surprised by a penalty at the end of the race regarding how we should approach the corners or how we should drive the race cars. At no point do we want to do anything wrong at these speeds.”
The two-time champion gave a detailed explanation of what happened and how it felt justified to him. He stated, “In F1, with over 20 years of experience, with epic duels like Imola 2005/2006/ Brazil 2023, changing racing lines, sacrificing entry speed to have good exits from corners is part of the art of motorsport.”
Alonso went all in to defend his actions on the penultimate lap of the Australian GP. The 42-year-old had actually braked at an unusual 100 meters before Turn 7 catching Russell out, perhaps leading him off-track.
Double points for the team and a better race pace than the rest of the weekend allowed us to cross the finish line in 6th and 7th place. A bit surprised by a penalty at the end of the race regarding how we should approach the corners or how we should drive the race cars. At no… pic.twitter.com/WBdr7MPGFr
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) March 24, 2024
The Aston Martin driver defended this braking maneuver by explaining how all drivers don’t drive at 100% every lap in order to “save fuel, tires, brakes”. So the Spaniard feels the decision to penalize him for the same is a bit “surprising”.
Naturally, the penalty changed the race result, and other drivers gained from Alonso’s loss. It was a drive-through penalty that converted to a 20-second time penalty post-race. His teammate, Lance Stroll, and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda got a promotion to P6 and P7 respectively, as the #14 driver is classified as P8.
How did George Russell’s crash happen that caused the penalty for Fernando Alonso?
Thankfully, George Russell escaped a huge calamity on Lap 57 of the Australian GP. While chasing Alonso for P6, the 25-year-old got caught out by the former’s braking maneuver and he went off track. Russell’s W15 had contact with the wall going through the gravel and suffered major damage.
Eventually, the car landed in the middle of the track in a horizontal position at a 40 to 45-degree angle facing the other way. Russell could not see any cars coming towards him and was screaming on his radio, asking for a Red flag. The anxiousness in his voice reflects the sheer gravity of what could have happened!
Big impact for George Russell
Good to see the Mercedes man walk away unscathed from this crash #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/Jsq6RZ1UBS
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2024
Fortunately, before anything could happen, marshals reached out to the #63 driver and pulled him out of the car. Although, the FIA and Race Control did not red-flag the race. Despite only one lap remaining in the Grand Prix, they called for a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) and ended the race under those conditions.
All drivers slowed down as per VSC conditions and the final lap of the race happened without any action as marshalls recovered Russell and his car from the track.
Thankfully, the Briton highlighted that he was alright immediately, but he did not want his race to end that way for sure. The way the Mercedes ended up explains the severity of Alonso’s penalty. Still, the two-time champion won’t be pleased with it.
