Alonso was punished after the Australian race: "Potentially dangerous" driving before Russell's crash!

After the Australian Grand Prix, the referee judged that Fernando Alonso's driving before George Russell's collision was "potentially dangerous" and gave him a 20-second time penalty.

Mercedes driver Russell was chasing Alonso on newer tires in the final stage of the race. When approaching his relatively slower Aston Martin opponent on the final lap, he lost control and crashed at the Turn 6/7 compound. Toward the guardrail. The referee became aware of the incident minutes after the end of the race and, after reviewing available footage and speaking with both drivers, gave Alonso a pit stop penalty, which was converted into a 20-second time penalty. He dropped from sixth to eighth - advancing teammate Lance Stroll and Red Bull Racing's Yuki Tsunoda.

Russell commented immediately after the race: "To be honest, I really don't know what happened. At the entrance of the corner I was half a second behind Alonso and then all of a sudden before the apex of the corner I was Next to his trunk, he lost control and went off the track."

In a detailed document, the review panel - which this week included former F1 driver Johnny Herbert - explained the reasons for their decision to penalize Alonso.

"Telemetry data showed that Alonso entered this corner more than 100 meters earlier than usual during the race. He also braked slightly at a point where he would not normally brake (although the amount of braking was minimal and not the main factor in slowing his car down). reason) and downshifted at a point where he would not normally downshift. He then upshifted again and slowed down again before accelerating into the corner. Specifically, in this case, the referee did not consider the consequences of the accident. Furthermore, the referees felt they did not have enough information to determine whether Alonso's maneuver was intended to cause problems for Russell or whether, as he told the referee, he was simply trying to get a better exit speed."

"In this case, we consider that Alonso's active choice to perform an unusual maneuver at this point was an aggravating circumstance rather than a simple error." In addition to parking and entering, Alonso was also fined 3 A deduction point.