Fernando Alonso clashes with FIA over strong Australian GP punishment – F1 news round-up.
Alonso was given a drive-through penalty, converted into 20 seconds added to his race time, plus three FIA Super Licence penalty points after Russell ended up sideways in the middle of the track following a late-race battle.
24 Mar 2024 10:00 PM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

The stewards found Alonso guilty of “potentially dangerous driving” as telemetry showed he had slowed before Turn 6 on the penultimate lap with Russell in pursuit, though Alonso argued that he defended in a manner that “any racing driver would do” and was disappointed by the severe penalty issued.

‘Alonso clashes with FIA’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/fernan...-gp-punishment


Why Fernando Alonso’s Australian GP penalty is simply wrong
Fernando Alonso and George Russell's incident has been a major talking point after the Australian GP
March 25, 2024 - 14:50
John Smith
Total Motorsport

Fernando Alonso was given a 20-second time penalty and three penalty points for potentially dangerous driving against George Russell at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix. The incident has caused huge controversy and Alonso has continued to hit back at the stewards’ decision which demoted him from sixth to eighth.

Immediately after the penalty, Aston Martin released their usual post-race press release where Alonso reiterated he was focusing on getting as good an exit as possible. “That’s what any racing driver would do, and I didn’t feel it was dangerous,” said Alonso. “It’s disappointing to get a penalty from the stewards for what was hard but fair racing.”

He didn’t stop there though as the two-time world champion took to Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, and listed examples of previous battles where differing lines and speeds were taken to defend and attack. “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,” explained Alonso. “At no point do we want to do anything wrong at these speeds.”

‘Penalty simply wrong’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/why...-simply-wrong/


Alonso indignant over penalty as stewards highlight the limits of his explanation
25th March 2024, 13:14
Keith Collantine
RaceFans

Whether or not you agreed with the call (which has proved divisive here), all sides of the debate should appreciate the stewards taking the time to explain their reasoning. It’s certainly preferable to the days when, following hours of deliberation, their decisions were announced in single-sentence statements with no accompanying explanation.

The decision was likely to provoke controversy whether it came down on Alonso’s side or that of the driver who crashed in his wake on the penultimate lap, George Russell. It appears the stewards realised that and took the time to detail why they had sanctioned a driver who had seemingly done nothing more than lift his throttle, and issued a drive-through penalty rather than the more common and less severe five- or 10-second varieties.

Alonso was given a 20-second post-race penalty for decelerating suddenly in front of Russell as they approached turn six. The pair made no contact, but the stewards called Alonso’s abrupt reduction in speed an “extraordinary” piece of driving which “was at very least ‘potentially dangerous’.”

‘Limits of his explanation’;

https://www.racefans.net/2024/03/25/...ritten-ruling/


ALONSO: ‘I DIDN’T FEEL IT WAS DANGEROUS’ AS THE SPANIARD GIVES HIS VERDICT ON RUSSELL’S CRASH
Alonso was demoted to eighth after being penalised following a last-lap incident in the Australian Grand Prix
March 25, 2024
Oliver Brindle
FormulaNerds

Alonso was being chased down by Russell in the final stages of the Australian Grand Prix when the British driver lost control of his Mercedes, spiralling across the gravel into the wall and eventually ending up in the middle of the circuit.

At first, it was assumed that the Briton had simply lost control of his Silver Arrow, but after the FIA reviewed the telemetry, they discovered that Alonso had broken 100 metres earlier on the lap in an attempt to slow Russell’s progress.

As a result, the two-time world champion was handed a 20-second time penalty and given three points on his license. Speaking to Motorsport.com, Alonso said: “George caught me quickly; I knew that he was coming. Then he was in DRS range for five or six laps, so I was just doing qualifying laps to stay ahead. I wanted to maximise my exit speed from Turn 6 to defend against him. That’s what any racing driver would do, and I didn’t feel it was dangerous.”

‘Maximise my exit speed from Turn 6 to defend’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/al...ussells-crash/


Explained: He made no contact with Russell – so why did Alonso cop a 20-second penalty for his part in the crash?
Russell said that “from his perspective, Alonso’s manoeuvre was erratic, took him by surprise and caused him to close distance unusually fast, and with the resulting lower downforce at the apex of the corner, he lost control and crashed at the exit of the corner”.
12:36 24-Mar-24
Formula One - Official Site

The stewards went on to state that telemetry showed Alonso lifted “slightly more than 100m earlier than he ever had going into that corner during the race”, as well as braking “very slightly at a point that he did not usually brake (although the amount of brake was so slight that it was not the main reason for his car slowing)” before downshifting at a different point to usual.

He then upshifted again and accelerated to the corner before lifting again to make the corner. Alonso explained that his plan was to slow earlier but that he had got it "slightly wrong" and “had to take extra steps to get back up to speed”, but the stewards said that this manoeuvre had “created a considerable and unusual closing speed between the cars”.

The stewards concluded that they did 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” but that, “whatever intent”, he had driven in a way that was “potentially dangerous” given the high-speed nature of that point of the track.

‘Explained: He made no contact with Russell’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...iJqk4P7624Qkqu


Were stewards right to penalise Alonso over his driving before Russell’s crash?
Posted on 24th March 2024, 10:42
Keith Collantine
RaceFans

Russell was closing on Alonso as the race entered its final laps. On lap 56 he got close enough to the Aston Martin in the DRS zone approaching turn nine for Alonso to move off the racing line to defend. The next time around Russell was slightly closer again. Approaching turn six, before the next DRS zone began, Russell suddenly drew closer to Alonso, lost control of his car as he turned into the corner and crashed. Russell was uninjured.

Speaking after the race Alonso said he was trying to lap as quickly as he could to keep Russell behind while coping with a problem in his car. “I had some issues for the last 15 laps, something on the battery on the deployment,” he said. “So definitely I was struggling a little bit at the end of the race. But I cannot focus on the cars behind.”

Russell said he was surprised by how suddenly Alonso slowed in front of him. “I was half a second behind him approaching the corner and then suddenly he slowed up very dramatically and got back on the power,” he said. “I just wasn’t expecting it and it caught me by surprise.”

‘Were stewards right?’;

https://www.racefans.net/2024/03/24/...ussells-crash/


Fans deliver Alonso penalty verdict
Fernando Alonso was penalised for his actions as George Russell crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix.
25 March 1:00PM
Ewan Gale
RacingNews365

RacingNews365 readers believe Fernando Alonso's penalty at the Australian Grand Prix was incorrect.

‘Fans deliver verdict’;

https://racingnews365.com/alonso-pen...-driving-harsh


Fernando Alonso ‘knew what he was doing’ with George Russell battle tactics
It has been claimed that Fernando Alonso was trying to exploit a "grey area" in his late battle with George Russell.
25 Mar 2024
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

Ex-F1 driver Timo Glock has claimed Fernando Alonso knew exactly what he was doing with driving that ultimately earned him a penalty at the Australian Grand Prix. Former grand prix racer Glock believes Alonso was trying to exploit a “grey area” of the regulations in order to “gain an advantage”.

“Alonso brakes very early and allows Russell to catch up,” Glock told Sky Deutschland. “Alonso’s idea was to catch Russell off guard, slow him down, and then accelerate early to open a gap.”

“It was so extreme that Russell didn’t expect it at all. He got way too close and lost downforce. Alonso extends his elbows and uses the grey area to gain an advantage. He already knows what he’s doing with his experience.”

‘Battle tactics’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104622...battle-tactics