Despite receiving the “hardest” time penalty conceivable, Fernando Alonso remains adamant, claiming that it “will not change” his driving because George Russell would not have wrecked on any other circuit.
Russell retired from the Australian Grand Prix after crashing on the penultimate lap while battling Alonso for sixth position.
‘I don’t think it will change much on how we drive.’
The Briton was unimpressed when Alonso braked on the straight, then accelerated before braking again for the Turn 6 bend.
His first moment of braking, 100m earlier than on previous laps, caught Russell off guard, with the Mercedes driver revealing: “I was actually looking at my steering wheel on the straight as I’d done every single lap prior, and when I looked up 100 metres before the corner, I realised I was right behind Fernando, rather than the half a second that I was.”
There was no contact, but the rapid loss of downforce caused Russell to lose control of his W15 and crash.
While acknowledging that Alonso’s actions were not “extraordinarily dangerous,” he believes that if his adversary had not been fined, it would have established a negative precedent not only for F1, but also for motor racing’s youth championships.
Alonso, on the other hand, had a different take on the incident, claiming that drivers have “no obligation” to perform the same thing on each lap.
As a result, he has no plans to change his racing style.
“It was evident. “And I believe it is still clear,” he told the journalists at the Suzuka track. “The penalty in Melbourne surprised me a little.
“There is nothing we can do; we must accept it, go on, and focus on this. However, I do not believe it will have a significant impact on how we drive and race.
“There is no duty to drive 57 laps in the same manner. Sometimes we slow down to preserve fuel, tyres, and batteries.
“And occasionally we go slow into corners or into certain sections of the track to offer the DRS to the car behind, since it will be a beneficial tool if the second car behind is moving faster.
“All of these things are perfectly normal. And it was, is, and always will be in motorsports. So we had one penalty, presumably a one-time occurrence, that we will never impose again.”
