- By Andrew Benson
- ` F1 correspondent in Melbourne
March 24, 2024, 09:47 GMT
Updated 23 minutes ago
image source, Getty Images
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George Russell's accident rounded off a bad weekend for Mercedes
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso was given a 20-second penalty for “potentially dangerous driving” at the Australian Grand Prix.
The two-time world champion told stewards he “misunderstood something” in the incident, which led to a serious accident for Mercedes driver George Russell.
Alonso admitted that he braked too early in turn six and then accelerated again.
The stewards said he had the right to change his approach but punished him for “doing something out of the ordinary”.
The penalty caused him to drop from sixth to eighth place. He also received three penalty points on his license.
But Alonso said he was “surprised” by the decision on social media afterwards: “A bit surprised by a penalty at the end of the race about how we should approach the corners or how we should drive the race cars. We don't do that at any point.” I don't want to do anything wrong at these speeds.
“I don't think we'll be examined at all without gravel on this corner, on any other corner in the world. In Formula 1, with over 20 years of experience, with epic duels like Imola 2005/2006/Brazil 2023, changing racing lines, it is part of the art of motorsport to sacrifice approach speed in order to achieve good corner exits.
“We never drive 100% on every lap of the race and in every corner. We save fuel, tires and brakes. So it’s a bit surprising to be responsible for not making every round the same.”
Russell said Alonso's driving on the final lap of the race directly contributed to him losing control in the corner and crashing.
His car came to a stop upside down in the middle of the track, causing the race to end under a virtual safety car.
Russell said: “It surprised me. I was half a second behind him and next thing you know he slams on the brakes, accelerates again and then slams on the brakes again.”
“I was half a second behind and then when I was at his gearbox I lost the tail, caught it and then hit the wall. It was a much more dramatic accident than it should have been.”
“I'm doing well. It was not a pleasant place to be in the middle of a high-speed corner on the racing line with the VSC.” [virtual safety car] It takes 10-15 seconds to come out.
“It doesn't sound like much, but there can be three cars coming around the corner in 10 seconds, and when you're doing 250km/h and there's a car in the middle of the road, I was actually quite worried.”
Russell told the stewards, whose report was not released until nearly three hours after the race, that Alonso's driving was “erratic,” “caught him off guard and caused him to drive unusually quickly for distance, resulting in reduced downforce on the track.” “He lost control and fell at the exit of the curve.”
According to the stewards' report, Alonso let off the accelerator in this corner a little more than 100 meters earlier than ever before during the race.
The race stewards said: “He also braked very lightly at a point where he would not normally brake (although the braking effect was so small that it was not the main reason his car slowed down) and he downshifted at one point, where he normally never downshifted.” .
“He then upshifted again and accelerated to the corner before lifting again to make the corner. Alonso explained that although he wanted to brake earlier, he made a mistake and had to take extra steps to get back up to speed.
“Nevertheless, this maneuver resulted in a significant and unusual closing speed between the cars.”
The move was effectively what is known in Formula One as a “brake test,” considered by most drivers to be an unacceptable form of racing.
The report into the incident added: “The stewards considered that they did not have sufficient information to determine whether Alonso's maneuver was intended to cause problems for Russell or whether, as he explained to the stewards, he was simply trying to do a better one Find the exit.”
“Should Alonso have the right to try a different approach to the corner? Yes. Should Alonso be responsible for the dirty air that ultimately caused the incident? No.”
“But did he choose to do something extraordinary, with whatever intention, d corner?
“Yes, according to his own account of the incident he committed, and in the opinion of the stewards, it caused him to drive in a manner that was at least 'potentially dangerous' given the very high speed at that point on the track.” .”
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