Mar.25 (GMM) Fernando Alonso went “too far” in “utilizing his elbows” within the dying moments of the Australian GP.
That’s the view not solely of professional pundits, but in addition the FIA – whose stewards put three penalty factors on his F1 superlicense and a 20-second penalty for the scary incident that successfully ended the Melbourne race.
Mercedes’ George Russell pleaded in terror on the radio for purple flags after bouncing again onto the racing line after a heavy crash – arguably attributable to Alonso having ‘brake-tested’ him.
Alonso’s long-time good friend, and now Aston Martin ambassador, Pedro de la Rosa, criticised the stewards’ resolution. “They can not inform the drivers tips on how to drive,” he insisted.
“Nobody right here intentionally stood on the brakes. Fernando simply defended his place, which is what a racing driver does. Russell ought to have anticipated that Fernando would do all the things he might to get the right exit in flip 6, as a result of he was most weak on the lengthy again straight.”
The stewards, nonetheless, discovered that Alonso’s act of “lifting, braking” and “downshifting” greater than 100 metres sooner than normal was harmful sufficient for the penalty.
Former Purple Bull driver Robert Doornbos informed Ziggo Sport that the stewards additionally wouldn’t have appreciated Alonso’s “Oscar-worthy efficiency” of blaming technical points for the strategy to show 6 that Russell referred to as “weird”.
“When you give an Oscar-worthy efficiency, shouting concerning the battery and the pedal, and he didn’t have these issues, the FIA noticed that and mentioned ‘You’re speaking nonsense’,” he mentioned.
“The FIA requested for the info and so they noticed that the closing price was monumental. It’s additionally not the primary time Alonso has brake examined a competitor.
“A little bit of push and pull is a part of it, however that went too far,” Doornbos added.
One other former driver, Timo Glock, informed Sky Deutschland: “Fernando is all the time utilizing his elbows. I believe he knew precisely what he was doing.
“His thought was to catch Russell off guard, gradual him down after which be on the gasoline early to open a niche. Nevertheless it was so excessive that Russell didn’t count on it in any respect.
“Alonso extends his elbows and makes use of these gray areas to achieve a bonus,” Glock added.
For his half, 42-year-old Alonso defended his actions on social media. He insisted that along with his “greater than 20 years of expertise, with epic duels like Imola 2005-2006, Brazil 2023, altering racing strains, sacrificing entry velocity to have good exits” is just “a part of the artwork of motorsport”.
Additionally awkward for Alonso is that he’s believed to be a frontrunner to interchange Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes subsequent 12 months.
“I don’t need to accuse Alonso of something, as a result of I solely watched just a few laps again thus far,” group boss Toto Wolff mentioned in Melbourne.
“However he braked on the lap of Russell’s crash at a degree the place he had not braked earlier than.”
