Alonso penalised over Russell crash incident

Fernando Alonso was penalised 20 seconds for dangerous driving at the Australian Grand Prix. The two-time world champion told stewards he had “got it slightly wrong. Alonso admitted he had braked too early at Turn Six and then accelerated again. The penalty dropped him from sixth place to eighth in the results.

Alonso lost control of his car on the final lap of the race and crashed. His car came to rest upside down in the middle of the track and led to the race finishing under a virtual safety car. Russell said: “We never drive at 100% every race lap and every corner, we save fuel, tyres, brakes, so being responsible for not making every lap the same is a bit surprising. I was half a second behind and then next thing I am on his gearbox, lost the rear, caught it and then clipped the wall.

It was a much more dramatic crash than it should have been. 34;I’m OK. The stewards said Alonso lifted off the accelerator just over 100m earlier than he ever had before into that corner during the race. The stewards said: “He also braked very slightly at a point that he did not usually brake (although the amount of brake was so slight that it was not the main reason for his car slowing) Alonso explained that while his plan was to slow earlier, he got it slightly wrong and had to take extra steps to get back up to speed.

He then upshifted again, and accelerated to the corner before lifting again to make the corner. The move was effectively what is known in F1 as a “brake test” and is considered an unacceptable form of racing by most drivers. Andrew Benson: Did Lewis Hamilton choose to do something with whatever intent that was extraordinary? Did he choose to lift, braking, downshifting and all the other elements of the manoeuvre over 100m earlier than previously, and much greater than was needed to simply slow earlier for the corner?

Yes by his own account of the incident he did, and in the opinion of the stewards by doing these things, he drove in a manner that was at very least ‘potentially dangerous.