After a spectacular Australian Grand Prix, it’s time to recap the biggest Formula One headlines from Albert Park.
Max Verstappen’s Formula One winning streak went up in ashes, literally, while Fernando Alonso was also frustrated after the stewards came down hard on him following a dramatic George Russell accident. Let’s take a deeper look.
Fernando Alonso complains with the strong Australian GP penalty.
After Russell went sideways in the middle of the circuit during a late-race struggle, Alonso received a drive-through penalty, which resulted in 20 seconds added to his race time and three FIA Super Licence penalty points.
The stewards deemed Alonso guilty of “potentially dangerous driving” since telemetry showed he slowed before Turn 6 on the penultimate lap with Russell in pursuit, but Alonso contended that he defended in a manner that “any racing driver would do” and was disappointed by the harsh punishment imposed.
Fernando Alonso believes his defence against George Russell was “what any racing driver would do” in the latter stages of the Australian Grand Prix.
The Aston Martin driver received a post-race drive-through penalty (converted to a 20-second time increase) for “potentially dangerous driving” after telemetry revealed that he slowed at Turn 6 on the penultimate lap, leaving Russell in his trail.
Fernando Alonso answers to the FIA stewards’ ruling in Australia.
While there was no contact between the cars, the stewards’ verdict stated that Russell informed them that “Alonso’s manoeuvre was erratic, took him by surprise, and caused him to close distance unusually fast, and with the resulting lower downforce at the apex of the corner, he lost control and crashed at the exit of the corner.”
The stewards agreed, handing him three penalty points on his Super Licence and a 20-second penalty, lowering him from sixth to eighth in the standings.
“In the last laps, George caught up rapidly. I knew he was approaching, and he was in DRS range for about five or six circuits, so I was just running qualifying laps to keep ahead,” Alonso remarked after the race.
“I wanted to maximize my departure speed from Turn 6 when defending against him. That’s what any racing driver would do, and I didn’t consider it risky.
“It is disheartening to receive a punishment from the stewards for what was hard but fair racing.
“I’m delighted George is fine. It was not pleasant to see his car in the middle of the circuit.
“This wasn’t the finest weekend for us in terms of pace, but our race was brilliantly executed: good strategy, incredible pit stops, and excellent reliability.
“I think we probably scored more points today than our pace merited – but we’ll take that.”
Alonso elaborated on the matter on social media, writing on X: “Double points for the team and a faster race pace than the rest of the weekend allowed us to cross the finish line in sixth and seventh place.”
“I was startled to see a penalty at the end of the race for how we approached the turns or drove the race vehicles. We don’t want to do anything improper at these speeds.
“I believe that without gravel on that corner, or any other corner in the globe, we would never be examined. With over 20 years of experience and epic battles like Imola 2005/2006/Brazil 2023, altering racing lines and sacrificing entering speed for good exits from corners is part of the art of motorsport.
“We never drive at 100% on every racing lap and corner; we save fuel, tires, and brakes, so being held accountable for not making every lap the same is a little odd. We must accept it and consider Japan in order to gain more speed and compete for positions higher up the field. “Thank you, team!”
Team principal Mike Krack added: “Fernando’s race profited by the Virtual Safety Car; it was shocking to see him drop to P8 with the post-race penalty, but we must respect the decision.
“This won’t detract from a good day. The pit wall calls were accurate, and the entire team performed admirably in terms of operations.
Russell claimed responsibility for the incident and refused to accuse Alonso of brake-testing him before meeting with the stewards, although he admitted being “totally caught out” by Alonso’s move in front of them.
“Such a shame to end the race like that,” he wrote on his X account.
“I was completely caught off guard by the car ahead of me as I entered the bend, and I lost the car and some points for the team. Finally, we weren’t fast enough this weekend, but we’ll come back stronger.”
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