F1
Alonso 'surprised' by his penalty for Russell's exit
© DPPI
Fernando Alonso crossed the line sixth at the Australian Grand Prix, before being demoted to eighth overall following a 20-second penalty. The pilot Aston Martin actually received a Drive Through, which was converted into seconds added to his race time, since the penalty came after the checkered flag.
On social media, Alonso expressed his surprise at the commissioners' decision. They determined that he had driven in a “potentially dangerous” manner, causing George Russell, with whom he was fighting for 6th place, to go off the track. Alonso also explained that management is part of motorsport, and that drivers cannot take corners in exactly the same way lap after lap.
" I have been a little surprised by a penalty at the end of the race regarding how we should approach corners or how we should drive race cars. I think that without gravel in this corner, or in any corner, we would never have been under investigation.
En F1, with more than 20 years of experience, with epic duels like Imola 2005 and 2006 or Brazil 2023, changing trajectory, sacrificing entry speed to have good corner exits is part of the art of motorsport.
Struggles that remain in the annals
The double world champion refers in his message to three fights that remain in the memories, the first at Imola in 2005, where he maintained behind him Michael Schumacher throughout the last part of the test. The following year, it was the German who returned the favor, winning the San Marino Grand Prix ahead of the Renault of Alonso.
Finally, in 2023, in Brazil, Alonso finished just a few thousandths ahead of Sergio Pérez. The Mexican pilot had a Red Bull in theory much superior to the Aston Martin, but had not managed to overtake the Spaniard.
ALSO READ > Fernando Alonso penalized by 20 seconds at the Australian GP
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
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Jacques Morin
24/03/2024 at 11:59 a.m.
Aberrant decision by the commissioners. Reaction to the spectacular side of the accident, which could actually have ended badly? Pressure from Mercedes? of Russell? But as Alonso well reports: “sacrificing entry speed to have good corner exits is part of the art of motorsport.” So yes Alonso is not a paragon of virtue and no doubt he actually wanted to break Russell's momentum so that the latter would not benefit from the DRS rather than having better traction on the exit, but that's the BA-BA of fighting on the track... And Russell was surprised: but as on the road, it's up to the one behind to be careful. Without that, what's the point of racing: let's confirm the result of the weekend after qualifying: we have the cleanest lap there, since this seems to be the most important point for the commissioners. I watched the onboard cams of both cars several times and frankly, if Alonso's slowdown is significant, he's not slowing down either! Following this decision, Magnussen should have been excluded from the previous GP... And I'm not mentioning the F3 field which would be 90% at fault. The F2 barely less. Look at the races: “erratic” driving is almost the norm. Really nonsense, I hope this doesn't set a precedent, otherwise no one will defend their position anymore. The stewards and Race Direction would do better to listen and react instantly when a driver calls for a red flag like Russell did who was not leading - and we understand this in his car in the middle of the track ...And for Eric, you are right there are plenty of little Sargeants much more interesting than old ones like Alonso...
Eric Stevens
24/03/2024 at 04:13 a.m.
it's not a lot to pay for a dangerous and unsportsmanlike maneuver. Alonso is not his first stupidity, he is often borderline, it's nice when it happens but it's not always clean. With this driver there is a tolerance for this behavior which always amazes me. I remind you that wherever he has been, the cars work less and less well when you listen to his expectations and everything is better after his departure! and I'm not even talking about Singapore 2009! place for young people and ciao!
Yves-Henri RANDIER
24/03/2024 at 01:50 a.m.
Very surprising sanction even if everyone knows that Fernand is a hell of a trickster who didn't fall with the last rain!