F1 | Alonso: “Surprising penalty, they want to tell us how to drive”

The Australian GP provided many ideas, with a Ferrari victory ahead of McLaren also aided by Max Verstappen's retirement during the first laps due to a mechanical problem. However, behind them the fight between Aston Martin and Mercedes also divided opinions, especially what happened in the final stages of the race, with the accident involving Fernando Alonso and George Russell.

A very particular episode, which truly divided not only the fans, but also the pilots themselves. On the one hand there are those who see it as a dangerous manoeuvre, with driving judged to be incorrect which then led to the penalty inflicted by the stewards, while on the other there are those who consider it a racing manoeuvre, a sort of cunning on the part of the referee Spanish to defend the position.

Two totally opposite points of view. Alonso said that he wanted to try a different approach in turn six, in order to have better acceleration on exit for the setting of the following straight section, where it is possible to use the DRS. A motivation that did not exactly convince the commissioners, who explained the facts in more detail.

Approaching Turn 6, a medium-speed corner of around 200 km/h, the data shows that Alonso took his foot off the accelerator around 100 meters earlier than he did on the previous lap. Furthermore, the Spaniard also braked significantly at an unusual point, quite early compared to previous laps, thus allowing Russell to get closer.

All this meant that the Spaniard, approaching the curve, recorded a speed that was 35 km/h lower than the previous lap. The interesting aspect is that, for a brief moment, Alonso then got back on the accelerator, before taking his foot off again to tackle turn six. It is clear that, beyond the mere numerical aspect revealed by the data, at those speeds those behind recover ground very quickly, with a particularly narrow margin of reaction.

Although Russell did not have to make any evasive maneuvers to avoid Alonso, given that there was still a certain margin between the two, on the other hand the Briton was surprised by what happened and ended up in dirty air, which then led him to lose the car and end up off the track. In any case, this conduct pushed the stewards to consider the Aston Martin driver's maneuver contrary to the regulations: “At no time may a single-seater be driven slowly in an unnecessary, incorrect or in any way potentially dangerous for other drivers. or any other person”, reads article 33.4 of the sporting regulations.

Telemetry comparison between Alonso's laps 56 and 57 in the Australian GP

Photo by: Gianluca D'Alessandro

Alonso was then given a Drive Through which, as it could not be served in the race, was then converted into a twenty second penalty added to the race time, causing him to slip to eighth place.

After learning of the penalty, the Asturian entrusted his comment to social networks, noting that he was particularly surprised by the stewards' decision. “The double points finish for the team, an improved race pace compared to the rest of the weekend, allowed us to cross the finish line in sixth and seventh place.

“We were a little surprised by the penalty at the end of the race which tries to explain the way we should have approached the corners or driven our cars. We absolutely don't want to make any mistakes at these speeds. I believe that without gravel in that corner, in any other corner of the calendar the episode would never have even been investigated,” said the Aston Martin driver.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“I have twenty years of experience in Formula 1, facing epic duels like Imola 2005/2006, or Brazil 2023. Changing trajectory, sacrificing entry speed to have a good exit from corners is part of the art of motorsport. We never drive at 100% on every race lap and every corner. We save fuel, tires, brakes, so to be held accountable for not driving the same way every single lap is amazing.”

Theoretically Aston Martin could appeal the decision taken by the commissioners, but there would be aspects to consider: for example, to accept the appeal it would be necessary to bring new evidence that was not available at the time the decision was made. Having already viewed the telemetry data, the only possible alternative would be to find similar episodes that have not been penalized in the past, but even in that case nothing ensures that the decision will be overturned, which also pushed Aston Martin not to consider the possibility of appealing: “We must accept the penalty and think about Japan, to have better pace and fight for higher positions,” added Alonso.