The 2024 Australian GP ended in controversy as Fernando Alonso and George Russell got embroiled in a strange incident on the very last lap of the race. While Russell was chasing Alonso for sixth near turn six, the Spaniard seemingly braked too early, leading the Briton to get too close for comfort. As a result, the Mercedes driver lost control of the car and crashed into the barriers.
Consequently of the incident, Russell was left stranded in the middle of the track with his car almost flipped over. Following the conclusion of the race, the stewards handed Alonso a controversial drive-through penalty (converted into a 20-second time penalty).
Along with the time penalty, Alonso also received three penalty points on his super license. In the aftermath of the incident, F1 TV pundit Jolyon Palmer gave his take on the incident. He tagged Alonso’s maneuver as “erratic” and “unusual”.
In a video uploaded to F1’s official YouTube channel, Palmer explained, “You can just hear that actually this was a little bit erratic from Alonso. As we’re coming up, [Alonso] backs off the throttle, goes again on the throttle, and then comes into the corner. That is unusual.”
The stewards made their decision after hearing the point of view of both drivers and then reviewing the footage of the incident. Since they deemed Alonso guilty, they handed the 42-year-old a penalty. However, Alonso was unsurprisingly unimpressed by the decision of the stewards. The Spaniard referred to their verdict as “surprising“.
Aston Martin boss questions stewards’ decision to penalize Fernando Alonso
After receiving the news that the stewards had penalized him, Fernando Alonso questioned their decision. He issued a lengthy statement that read (as quoted by ESPN),
“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. We never drive at 100% every race lap and every corner, we save fuel, tires, brakes, so being responsible for not making every lap the same is a bit surprising.”
The #14 driver’s statement on his social media handles really caused a furor. In response, the FIA, the governing body of Formula 1, came out with more elaboration about how the conduct of the driver during the incident was in fact erratic.
Now, Aston Martin boss Mike Krack has seemingly put an end to the debate by issuing the team’s statement. Krack said (as quoted by RacingNews365), “To receive a 20-second time penalty where there was no contact with the following car has been a bitter pill to swallow, but we have to accept the decision”.
