F1 | Alonso defends himself, but Russell: “You can't brake on a straight line!”

The most popular topic on Thursday in Suzuka was the penalty given to Alonso at the end of the Australian Grand Prix. Fernando was punished with a drive-through penalty (converted into 20 seconds added to his race time) for defending himself from George Russell's attacks in a manner deemed 'too aggressive'. Alonso said he was surprised by the decision taken by the Stewards, underlining that the measure will not change the way he drives.

“It was a bit surprising – said Fernando regarding the penalty – but in these situations there is nothing we can do, we have to accept everything and move on. But it won't change much in the way we drive or the way we approach races.”

“There is no obligation to complete 57 laps in the same way, sometimes we reduce the pace to save fuel, tires or battery. It happens that we slow down in some corners or in some sectors of the track, we have seen on some occasions concessions DRS to the car that a driver has behind him because it can be strategic towards a comeback opponent who we believe is faster. These are completely normal aspects, it has always been like this in motorsport and always will be.”

Alonso also confirmed that the Stewards' verdict was most likely influenced by Russell's subsequent crash. “If it hadn't happened the incident would have been ignored, I'm 100% convinced on this point – underlined Fernando – if the escape route had been on asphalt I think George would have stayed on the track, he probably would have tried the attack again and I don't think there would have been no problem.”

Opinions expressed by other pilots did not confirm a common view. There are those who consider the Stewards' decision excessive and those who instead support the measure. The person directly involved, Russell, believes that if there had been no intervention on the part of the FIA, the Melbourne episode would have become a dangerous precedent.
“I was taken by surprise – commented George referring to the moment of the accident – ​​I was looking at the steering wheel and changing gear, as we do at that point every lap and, when I looked up, I was in Fernando's gearbox. At that point it was too late and I found myself against the barriers.”

The accident of George Russell, Mercedes W15, at the end of the Australian GP

“If Fernando had not been penalized – continued Russell – he would have created a precedent, in Formula 1 as well as in other categories. At that point we would have asked ourselves: can I slow down whenever I want? In every situation and at every point? I don't put it on a personal level because of what happened with Fernando, my accident had bigger consequences than it should have, but I am convinced that if there had been no penalty a dangerous scenario would have opened up, at that point we would have ask yourself if it is possible to brake in a straight line, for example”.

“We have so many things to do while driving – concluded Russell – acting on the controls on the steering wheel, making sure we have the right engine mode, taking care of the tyres, talking to the engineer, managing the glides when we are in safety mode car entering or exiting, and if you add to all this having to check that an opponent doesn't brake on the straight, I think there is a risk of going a little too far.”

Regarding Russell's accident, several drivers pointed the finger at the layout of the track, starting with Alonso himself. “Turn 6 (the site of Russell's accident) is certainly not the safest on the track, last year Alex (Albon) suffered an accident at that point, and again this year at the same again Alex damaged the chassis of his car. In Formula 2 there was Dennis (Hauger)'s accident and then we saw George. It's a point of the circuit that needs to be changed in view of next year, because there is always the risk of a car returning to the track after hitting the barriers.”

“I think that corner needs to be reviewed – added Sainz – I already said it in the last drivers' briefing, it's not the first time that in that stretch a single-seater returns to the track after hitting the barriers, and it's a blind curve. which is tackled at 250 km/h. I don't like what we've seen after the latest accidents on that stretch, even in other categories. It's just not a good feeling, then in other respects I don't want to be misunderstood, it's a fantastic curve. But on several occasions we saw a car stop on its way, occupying a large part of the track, I think everything deserves to be reviewed.”