The 2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Race Stewards have determined that Fernando Alonso’s driving on the approach to Turn 6 was sufficient enough to have played a part in George Russell’s last-lap crash and have ultimately handed him a 20-second time penalty.
Onboards showed Alonso’s Aston Martin slow on approach to Turn 6, with Russell’s Mercedes closing in fast behind, before losing control and hitting the barriers hard.
Fortunately, Russell was ok, but his race was cut short and points stripped away.
Following the chequered flag, both drivers were summoned to talk to the stewards for an hour-long discussion.
The stewards heard from both drivers and team representatives and they also had positioning/marshalling system data, video, team radio, in-car video evidence and telemetry supplied by both teams to help make their decision.
“Alonso explained to the stewards that he intended to approach turn 6 differently, lifting earlier, and with less speed into the corner, to get a better exit,” an FIA statement read.
“Russell explained to the stewards that from his perspective, 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 also learned from telemetry that Alonso lifted “slightly more than 100m earlier” on the approach to Turn 6 on the final lap compared to the rest of the race in addition to a slight additional amount of braking in an area of the corner he hadn’t before, in conjunction with downshifting “at a point he never usually downshifted.
“He then upshifted again, and accelerated to the corner before lifting again to make the corner.
“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.”
To determine whether a penalty ought to be applied, the Stewards referred to Art 33.4 of the regulations, which states: “At no time may a car be driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a The Stewards manner which could be deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person.”
They believed Alonso had every right to change his approach to a corner to get a better exit and didn’t believe he should be responsible for any dirty air that led to Russell’s off.
However, the Stewards also believed that Alonso by his own admission did drive in a manner that was “potentially dangerous” as cited in Art 33.4.
As a result, they levied a drive-through equivalent 20-second time penalty to Alonso’s final race time.
This demotes the Spaniard two places to eighth in the final classification, promoting team-mate Lance Stroll and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda up a position respectively.
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