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Fernando Alonso’s defensive move against George Russell at the Australian Grand Prix remains in the spotlight after the stewards’ penalty divided opinion among Formula One drivers.
While closing on Alonso for sixth place on the penultimate lap of the race in Melbourne, Russell crashed at Turn 6. His Mercedes bounced off the barrier and tipped up onto one side, ending up in the middle of the track and sparking panicked calls from the Briton for a red flag.aa
The telemetry from Alonso’s car showed that compared to his approach to the fast right-hander on every previous lap, he lifted off the accelerator 100 meters earlier, before braking and downshifting so much that he had to accelerate again to make the corner. That led to a big difference in closing speeds and created dirty air that reduced Russell’s downforce — a deliberate, tactical move the stewards deemed breached the regulations as “potentially dangerous driving.” They issued Alonso a 20-second penalty, dropping him from a P6 finish to P8.
Alonso and Aston Martin expressed surprise and disappointment in the decision, but did not plan any appeal or action to try and overturn the penalty, which dropped the Spaniard from sixth to eighth in the final classification.
But it remained a burning talking point through Thursday’s media day at Suzuka, as drivers shared thoughts on what precedent the penalty sets for future on-track battles.
‘A can of worms’
Russell admitted he was “totally caught by surprise” by Alonso’s move, looking up from a steering wheel switch change to then realize he was “in Fernando’s gearbox, and it was sort of too late. Then next thing I know, I’m in the wall.”
Had it not been penalized, Russell felt it “would have really opened up a can of worms,” particularly over the etiquette of defending a position. “Are you allowed to brake in a straight?” Russell pondered. “Are you allowed to slow down, change gear, accelerate, do something semi-erratic?”
Russell said it was “nothing personal” with Alonso, revealing they’d bumped into each other in a Monaco coffee shop after getting back from Australia and they didn’t discuss it. Sat alongside Russell in the press conference, Max Verstappen joked: “Did you brake test him there or not?”
Alonso was quite measured on the matter. He repeated his post-race line that it was “quite surprising” to be penalized, and said it would not prompt any change in his approach to racing. “There is no obligation to drive 57 laps in the same,” Alonso said. “We had one penalty, probably one off, that will never apply ever again. It was for us, we take it, we accept it.”
