Fernando Alonso is unfazed by his 20-second time penalty from the Australian Grand Prix and the Formula 1 veteran has said it “will not change” how drivers approach racing.
Alonso was handed the equivalent of a drive-through penalty after it was deemed his defensive driving tactics heading into Turn 6 of the Albert Park circuit led to George Russell’s last-lap crash.
Data showed Alonso braked earlier than normal on entry to Turn 6, before speeding up again and then ultimately slowing to make the turn.
Russell, caught unawares by the defensive driving tactic, lost control of his Mercedes and crashed out of the GP, but the application of the penalty has split opinion.
Whereas the Mercedes driver has said that “If it were not to have been penalised, it would have really opened a can of worms for the rest of the season and in junior categories,” Alonso admits the penalty was “surprising.”
The Spaniard added: “We have to accept it and concentrate on [Japan].
“I think it will not change much how we drive, how we approach racing.
“There is no obligation to drive 57 laps in the same way.
“Sometimes we get slower pace to save fuel, to save tyres, to save battery.
“Sometimes we get slow into corners or into some sectors of the track to give the DRS to the car behind because that will be a useful tool if the second car behind is at a faster pace.
“All those things are completely normal. It was, it is and it will be forever in motorsport. We had one penalty, probably one-off, that we will never apply ever again.”
Alonso argued that the more pressing issue regarding the incident was not his driving tactics, but more so the nature of Turn 6 at Albert Park, which is high speed with a close wall on the exit.
“I think the big thing is Turn 6 in Australia,” he said.
“It’s not the safest corner at the moment on that track.
“We saw an accident last year with Alex [Albon] in the race [and] this year in free practice where he damaged the chassis.
“Also in F2, I think Dennis [Hauger] crashed there as well. George, obviously in the race.
“That’s probably for me a more important point to change for next year [rather] than what the driver in front of me will be able to do or not do.”
The nature of the corner arguably heightened the risk of a crash in Russell’s case when he was admittedly “caught by surprise” by Alonso.
With a snap of oversteer, the Mercedes driver was quickly into the wall.
When prompted, Alonso said that without Russell’s crash “100%” a discussion regarding the Spaniard’s driving wouldn’t have been had with the stewards and also reiterated that it was a circuit-related problem.
“If he was in Abu Dhabi with a run-off area in asphalt or whatever, I think George will rejoin the track a few metres after that and will try to have a go on me in the following lap or the following straight,” Alonso said.
“It will not be any problem.”
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