Three and a half hours after the end of the Australian Grand Prix, the judges imposed a severe penalty on Fernando Alonso. The two-time world champion was recognized as “potentially dangerous” for the other drivers and was punished with 20 seconds, which cost him two positions in the final protocols. We tell you what the Spaniard did and why Fernando finally fooled himself.
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Fall on the penultimate lap
At the end of the Australian Grand Prix, Russell, after a long final pit stop, quickly caught up with Alonso, who was in sixth position, and eventually established himself less than a second behind Aston Martin. George never managed to get into attacking range, but if Fernando made the slightest mistake, he would have had a good chance, and that’s what the Brit was waiting for.
On the penultimate lap before turn six, Alonso suddenly brakes a hundred meters earlier than usual. It’s too early: before entering the curve, Fernando manages to step on the accelerator again and begin to gain speed. Russell, who was walking half a second behind him, unexpectedly finds himself on his opponent’s rear wing; for a moment he loses concentration, “slips” in the dirty air and crashes the car.
Russell’s wrecked car
Photo: Joe Portlock – Formula 1/Getty Images
“The elimination was my fault,” Russell admitted. “But Fernando’s braking was strange. I don’t want to blame him for anything, but he took me by surprise. Which, however, is my fault.” Alonso himself said that in that episode he did not even think about the pursuer: “In the last 15 laps I had problems with the battery, with its discharge, so I didn’t have time to watch the car from behind. But George seems fine. I saw his car and I was worried about him.”
At the same time, the battery has nothing to do with the episode: the Aston Martin’s telemetry clearly shows two braking periods, between which the car gains speed. These data fully confirm Russell’s version, and the judges asked certain questions to the participants in the incident a few minutes after the finish.
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It’s not my fault, but…
Alonso explained to the stewards that on the penultimate lap he decided to take turn six a little differently and better prepare for the exit, which required braking earlier. However, Fernando, according to himself, made a mistake, braked too soon and was forced to pick up speed again.
Russell called these movements chaotic. Due to premature braking, George approached the opponent’s car too quickly, suddenly lost downforce in the dirty air and lost control of the car. The judges’ text directly states that it was precisely this, a strong loss of downforce, that caused George to leave.
Fernando Alonso
Photo: astonmartinf1.com
However, it is important to note that the judges do not blame Alonso for the breakage of the Mercedes. His decision stated that the Spaniard should not be held responsible for the impact of dirty air on other participants in the race. At the same time, the judges consider that the very fact of braking twice in a high-speed combination is an erratic and potentially dangerous action, directly prohibited by article 33.4.
Furthermore, the race direction points out that initially the braking was a conscious decision by Alonso, and not the result of any error. The judges considered this fact as an aggravating circumstance, and therefore it was impossible to impose a minimum fine – 10 seconds for such a violation this season. The result is passing through the pit lane (20 seconds) and three penalty points for the Super License.
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Did Alonso deceive himself?
The judges stressed that they did not have enough data to determine whether Alonso braked so soon with any intention or really made a mistake. At the same time, from the outside it seems strange that a driver with so much experience is capable of making a mistake in this way: stepping on the brake so early that he has time to accelerate further before the turn. It is reasonable to assume that Fernando deliberately tried to deceive Russell, and succeeded.
However, this game was not worth it in the end. One of Mercedes’ problems this year is that the car is unstable in the fast corners and, for example, Russell had no chance of making a good attack in turn nine. The threat to Alonso’s position was not great enough to justify such unusual measures. And even without them, Fernando, in extreme cases, would have lost one position and would have been seventh, and after the penalty he finished in eighth place.
George Russell
Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
As for George Russell, Alonso’s antics do not exempt him from the responsibility of relegation. Yes, it is impossible to be prepared for the fact that the driver in front will brake sharply where no one has ever done so. At the same time, George was not so close to the Aston Martin, the speed at the time of the final stall was not so high and, if he had been fully concentrated, he would have held the car.
This episode also shows the difference between a driver of Alonso’s caliber and the still very young Russell. From a Spaniard one normally expects something more elegant than simply braking sharply, but this is another example of how an experienced master is able to come up with non-trivial moves and use them in the most unexpected way for his opponents. But sometimes George finds it difficult to even concentrate on himself; It’s not the first time he hits the wall in the final laps.
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