Fernando Alonso’s public defense of his driving during the Australian Grand Prix was a typical example of self-promotion. However, it only touched on the true nature of the incident that resulted in George Russell crashing and Alonso receiving a penalty. Alonso’s claim that he was trying to optimize his exit out of Turn 6 is the only part of his reasoning that holds up under scrutiny. He was engaged in a close battle with a faster car, dealing with battery problems in his own car, and knew that Russell’s best opportunity to overtake would be with DRS open on the flat-out section from Turn 6 to Turn 9. By intentionally slowing down into Turn 6, Alonso hoped to disrupt Russell’s momentum and prevent a straightforward overtake.
From Russell’s perspective, Alonso’s driving could be seen as a brake test, even if Russell himself did not go so far in his comments to the media. Russell was following closely behind the Aston Martin and described Alonso’s maneuver as “erratic” in the stewards’ hearing. He explained that it caught him off guard and closed the gap between the two cars unusually quickly, leading to a loss of downforce and ultimately causing the crash.
Aston Martin postponed its post-race media session following the hearing, so their official position on the incident is not known. Alonso expressed disappointment with the penalty he received, claiming that his actions were simply a result of hard but fair racing and that any driver would have done the same. He also took to social media to defend his driving further, stating that the stewards had no right to question him and comparing the incident to his past “epic” defensive drives.
The major issue with Alonso’s defense is that he admitted to making a mistake, something uncharacteristic of him. The stewards’ judgment revealed that Alonso lifted off the throttle much earlier than usual approaching Turn 6 and made other unusual braking and gear shifting decisions. Alonso explained to the stewards that he had planned to slow down more than usual for the corner to maximize his exit but made a slight error and had to take extra steps to regain speed. However, deliberately slowing down and speeding up again approaching a high-speed corner is not something expected on the final racing lap of a grand prix.
While racing etiquette allows for delaying a rival by going slower through a critical corner, Alonso’s actions were a significant misjudgment. The stewards acknowledged that Alonso had the right to alter his approach to the corner but also stated that what he did was “extraordinary” and went beyond what was necessary. They concluded that his actions were potentially dangerous, given the high-speed nature of that part of the track, and he deserved the penalty he received.