Fernando Alonso got to show off his superior understanding of the FIA’s rules during the Australian GP. The Spaniard was in 3rd place ahead of the second restart following the race being red-flagged at lap 55.
Immediately upon restart, the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz hit the rear of Alonso’s car, sending the 2x champion spinning. The Aston Martin driver was furious at the heat of the moment after dropping to the back of the grid.
A massive pile-up at turn 1 saw Alpines, AlphaTauri of Nyck De Vries, and Williams’ Logan Sargeant retire. Alonso took advantage of the situation by recalling the rules and reclaiming his podium.
Damon Hill claims Fernando Alonso’s skill similar to Michael Schumacher
Fernando Alonso is the most senior driver on the F1 grid. The 41-year-old former world champion has spent nearly two decades in the sport. His experience paid off, as he could reclaim the podium immediately.
Alonso is reputed for his ability to argue and reason. His demonstration of the skill last Sunday earned him the praise of Damon Hill, who compared the Spaniard’s presence of mind to the likes of 7x world champion Michael Schumacher.
The 1996 F1 champion commented, “You’d expect someone who has been in F1 for as long as he has to have already learnt something. But you cannot assume that. He is invested in the sport and understands it better as Michael Schumacher did.”
As per the rules, if all the cars do not manage to pass the safety car line before the race is red-flagged, the grid order is reset to the order of the previous start. This allowed the Aston Martin driver to reclaim the 3rd place.
He added, “Michael always knew where the openings were, where the opportunities were and took advantage of that. It’s the same with Fernando.” Hill claims the Spaniard would make a great fit for a future team principal
Alonso claims FIA was unfair with Carlos Sainz’s penalty decision
Fernando Alonso claimed his 101st career podium. However, it came at the cost of Carlos Sainz dropping out of points. Sainz was struck with a 5-second penalty for his role in the collision.
The Ferrari driver called the penalty to be completely unfair. After the race, Alonso sympathized with his countryman. The 2x champion too, felt the stewards were too harsh with their penalty.
The Aston Martin driver believed Sainz struggled with grip, which is often the case with a safety car restart. Instead of a penalty, the stewards should have classified it as a racing incident.
The podium in Melbourne marked the former Ferrari driver’s first hattrick of podiums since 2013. If he manages to secure another P3 in Baku, Alonso will level the record for consecutive third-place finishes, held currently by Mark Webber and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
