2024-03-24 09:39:31
Fernando Alonso has been sanctioned with a 20-second drive through that apply to his final time at the Australian Grand Prix, so he goes from s8th in the final classification.
The stewards of the event, among whom was Johnnie Herbert, have considered him responsible for erratic driving in final defense on George Russellso it is imposed the most severe penalty, despite the slight indications that it caused the Englishman to leave the track, not so much for touching the brakes, something he “did lightly” and it was not, according to the resolution, the cause that the Mercedes driver blocked his brakes when he fell on top of Fernando and lost control.
The reason is that “he took his foot off the accelerator 100 meters earlier than usual in the rest of the race,” on that 57th lap, the penultimate one, when he was trying to keep his rival behind in the lap sequence. chicane 6-7. The FIA has taken Alonso’s registration for a long time, despite being one of the most sporting drivers in his entire sporting career.
Also this year the FIA hhas aggravated the penalty for this reason from 10 to 20 seconds in 2025which is applied to a debatable situation of go a little slower, as has always been done, to then exit the curve faster. Without going any further, like this won the 2005 San Marino GP against Michael Schumacher without the German complaining or losing control of his car. It seems illogical to preserve the fight in racing, as long as it has not existed ‘brake test’ (stomp on the brake which is erratic driving), as it has been shown that Fernando has not done today.
The sanction can be appealed at the request of new evidence, something that is not known if Aston Martin is going to do, but Fernando accepted it with a touch of surprise and irony:
“I wanted to maximize my exit speed out of Turn 6 to defend against him. It’s what any racing driver would do, and it didn’t seem dangerous to me.. It is disappointing to receive a penalty from the stewards for racing in a harsh but fair manner. And I’m little surprised by a late-race penalty on how we should approach corners or how we should drive racing cars,” he commented.
“At no time do we want to do anything bad at these speeds. I think that without gravel on that curve, we would never have even been investigated,” said the Asturian. In F1, with more than 20 years of experience, with epic duels like Imola 2005/2006/Brazil 2023, changing lines and sacrificing entry speed to have good corner exits is part of the art of motorsports.“, clarified an Alonso upset with the decision.
“We never drive at 100% in every lap and every corner, we save fuel, tires, brakes, so to be responsible for all the same turns is a little surprising,” he closes.
Herbert, ‘old acquaintance’ of Fernando
It so happens that Herbert, who was Sky Sports F1 commentator had an exchange of statements with the Spaniard at the 2016 Bahrain GP, when the Briton said that Fernando should “think about retirement”after the accident he had in Australia precisely, which caused him a rib fracture, when he was a McLaren driver
The two-time championand he answered in front of the cameras the next day in the middle of the paddock, in a well-known scene, in which he said: “I’m not retiring,” Alonso told Herbert. “I’m a world champion. You ended up being a commentator because you’re not,” he snapped. “Okay, thank you very much, I’m not a world champion,” Herbert responded live.
1711291989
#Alonso #penalized #seconds #sixth #eighth #Australia