Credit: X
Aston Martin F1 driver Fernando Alonso was disappointed with his post-race penalty at the Australian Grand Prix 2024 in Melbourne. The Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc clinched one-two on the podium while Mclaren's Lando Norris finished third. The Spaniard went from P6 to P8 for his involvement in a horrific crash involving Mercedes driver George Russell when the duo were battling it out for sixth place.
The Mercedes driver had been tracking down Alonso with fresher tyres towards the final stages of the race. The Brit then approached the rear of Alonso's Aston Martin at the Turn 6/7 complex, which wasn't moving that quickly on the final lap. Subsequently, Russell lost control and crashed into the barriers. After the race, the stewards slapped a 20-second penalty on Alonso for break-testing Russell which led to the crash.
We never drive at 100% every race lap: Fernando Alonso
Reacting to this decision, Fernando Alonso took to social media and shared a lengthy note regarding his disagreement with this decision. Alonso questioned the stewards for penalising him for his approach on the corners.
The Spaniard wrote, "Double points for the team and a better race pace than the rest of the weekend allowed us to cross the finish line in 6th and 7th place. A bit surprised by a penalty at the end of the race regarding how we should approach the corners or how we should drive the race cars. At no point do we want to do anything wrong at these speeds. I believe that without gravel on that corner, on any other corner in the world we will never be even investigated."
"In F1, with over 20 years of experience, with epic duels like Imola 2005/2006/ Brazil 2023, changing racing lines, sacrificing entry speed to have good exits from corners is part of the art of motorsport. We never drive at 100% every race lap and every corner, we save fuel, tires, brakes, so being responsible for not making every lap the same is a bit surprising. We have to accept it and think about Japan, to have more pace and fight for positions further up the field. Thank you, team!