Fernando Alonso’s penalty at Australian Grand Prix, explained

In the final stages of the 2024 F1 Australian Grand Prix, the drama that could not be resolved until the end was the battle for 6th place between Fernando Alonso and George Russell. The Mercedes driver had been chasing the veteran on a newer set of tires, but the battle seemed to end abruptly when he suddenly noticed Russell sliding into the gravel and then coming to a halt on the track. The driver demanded desperately, causing his W15 to flip sideways. Red flag:

However, the problem was far from resolved.

Both drivers were called to meet with race stewards to determine whether Alonso played any role in Russell’s crash. After speaking with both drivers and reviewing telemetry data, stewards determined that there was no collision between the two cars.

However, Russell was given a drive-through penalty, but the race had already ended, so he was given a penalty. Converts to a 20 second penalty. When this penalty was applied, Alonso dropped from 6th to 8th place, and as a result both Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda were promoted one place each.

The question is, why? Why was Alonso given this penalty even though there was no contact between the cars?

According to Steward, the answer lies in rigorous reading. Sports Regulations Article 33.4. The clause reads: “At no time should a vehicle be driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically, or in a manner that appears to be potentially dangerous to other drivers or other persons.”

When the stewards spoke to Alonso, the Aston Martin driver “explained to the stewards that he intended to change his approach to Turn 6, lift earlier and enter the corner at a slower speed to get a better exit. ”. From Russell’s perspective, he said: [maneuver] It surprised him with instability, and he closed the following distance at an unusually high speed, resulting in reduced downforce at the apex of the corner, causing him to lose control and crash on the exit of the corner. ”

Stewards then reviewed telemetry data, which showed that Alonso “released the throttle just over 100 meters earlier than he entered the corner during the race”. He also braked very slightly at points where he normally wouldn’t (but the amount of braking was so slight that it wasn’t the main cause of slowing the car down) and at points where he normally wouldn’t. I downshifted at a point where I shouldn’t have downshifted. ” Following that sequence, Alonso “shifted up again, accelerated into the corner and then lifted up.” [off the throttle] Turn the corner again. ”

The telemetry data in question is: F1-tempo. The previous wrap is white and the wrap in question is green. The white vertical line indicates the approximate time the incident occurred.

here it is Related throttle and brake data Similarly:

When asked about the above sequence, Alonso told the stewards that his plan was to slow down early, but he made a “slight mistake” in the maneuver and had to take extra steps to get back up to speed. He said there wasn’t.

Stewards noted that Alonso’s maneuver “created a significant and unusual approach speed between the vehicles.”

The Stewards then sought to determine whether Alonso had breached Article 33.4 of the Sporting Code, as stated above. First, the stewards pointed out that the “consequences of the accident” were not taken into account, and also pointed out that “we do not have enough information to determine whether there was an accident for Alonso.” [maneuver] Whether it was intended to cause trouble for Russell or whether he was simply trying to get a better exit, as he stated to the stewards. ”

Race officials pointed out that Alonso had the right to try a different approach at that corner and should not be held responsible for the dirty air that “ultimately caused the incident”.

However, Article 33.4 of the Sporting Regulations does not require such a finding, but rather that Alonso drove the AMR24 “unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a manner that is potentially dangerous to other drivers or other persons.” It requires a finding that the vehicle was operated in a manner considered to be dangerous. In their view, based on the available data and his own words, Alonso violated that rule.

As the stewards’ report pointed out, Alonso “regardless of his intentions, did something unusual – lift, brake, downshift and all other operating elements more than 100 meters earlier than before and more than necessary. Just slow down early for the “chosen” corner. ” Therefore, in their judgment, Alonso “drove in a manner that was at least “potentially dangerous” given the extremely high-speed nature of that point on the track.”

The standard penalty for this violation is set at 10 seconds, but stewards also reported that a “drive-through penalty” could be imposed if the situation worsens. This was a penalty decided by the stewards, but since it was done after the race, it translated into a 20 second penalty.

Three penalty points were also added to Alonso’s superlicence. Alonso enters the season without penalty points on his superlicence, meaning he will have one calendar year left on those three licenses.

The incident between Russell and Alonso reminded many of the incident between the Aston Martin driver and Lewis Hamilton at last season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hamilton criticized Alonso as follows:brake test” he.

Alonso was not penalized for that incident, but the stewards’ view this time was very different.