Fernando Alonso handed 20-second penalty and demoted to eighth place for ‘potentially DANGEROUS driving’ after ‘unusual manoeuvre’ which led to George Russell crashing out of the Australian Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso has been demoted to eighth place at the Australian Grand Prix after he was handed a 20-second time penalty for his role in George Russell crashing out of the race.
Russell was chasing Alonso for sixth on Lap 57 of 58, when he got too close behind the Aston Martin driver and crashed out of the race.
Though Alonso made no contact with the British Mercedes star, the stewards decided to investigate the incident and speak to both men after the race.
It was deemed that Alonso made an ‘unusual manoeuvre’ and drove in a manner that was ‘potentially dangerous’.
This was due to the 42-year-old lifting more than 100m earlier at Turn 6 than he had in the prior 56 laps, which ultimately caught out Russell.
George Russell crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix on lap 57 when chasing Fernando Alonso
Russell’s car hit the barrier and got lifted up on its side over the broken wheel of the Mercedes
Stewards have given Alonso a 20-second time penalty after they said he lifted more than 100 metres earlier going into Turn 6 – which ultimately caught out the British driver
In the FIA document confirming the time penalty, it was revealed that Alonso told stewards that he intended to take the corner differently, as he wanted to lift earlier and take less speed so he could get a better exit.
Russell countered the argument telling the stewards that Alonso’s manoeuvre was ‘erratic’ and took him by surprise as it caused him to close the distance to the back of the Aston Martin ‘unusually fast’.
Alonso also explained that while his plan was to slow earlier, he got it slightly wrong and had to take extra steps to get back up to speed.
The FIA statement read: ‘Did he (Alonso) choose to do something, with whatever intent, that was extraordinary, lifting, braking, downshifting and all the other elements of the manoeuvre over 100m earlier than previously? – yes by his own account of the incident he did.
‘And in the opinion of the stewards by doing these things, he drove in a manner that was at very least ‘potentially dangerous’ given the very high speed nature of that point of the track.’
Alonso was also given three penalty points by the stewards which included former British F1 driver Johnny Herbert.
The statement added: ‘The stewards considered that they do not have sufficient information to determine whether Alonso’s manoeuvre was intended to cause Russell problems, or whether as he stated to the stewards that he simply was trying to get a better exit.
‘This season, the FIA Formula One penalty guidelines, including for this breach have been reset and increased to a baseline of a 10-second penalty. In addition, when there is some aggravating circumstance, we consider a drive-through penalty.
Alonso was found to have braked more than 100m earlier into Turn 6, which led to Russell crashing as he got close behind the Aston Martin driver
It was a disappointing day for Mercedes as Russell’s crashed followed Lewis Hamilton retiring with an engine issue
‘In this case we consider that Alonso affirmatively choosing to perform an unusual manoeuvre at this point to be an aggravating circumstance, as opposed to a simple mistake.’
The Spaniard’s demotion promoted team-mate Lance Stroll up to sixth and Yuki Tsunoda to seventh.
It was a disappointing weekend for Russell’s Mercedes team-mate who left Australia without a solitary point, after Lewis Hamilton retired with an engine issue.
Max Verstappen also retired from the race in the early stages, with Ferrari taking a 1-2 victory with Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris completing the podium.
