In the Australian Grand Prix, George Russell was involved in a terrifying crash; Fernando Alonso received a 20-second penalty for his involvement.
George Russell’s horrific crash during the Australian Grand Prix has prompted an order for him to “accept responsibility.”
Russell was chasing Fernando Alonso when his car went into a wall and ended up on its side in the middle of the track. The Mercedes star was heard on team radio demanding that the race be red-flagged, but that did not happen and all other drivers were able to avoid his car.
Russell and Alonso did not make contact, but the stewards chose to penalize the latter for slowing down for the corner “slightly more than 100m earlier than he ever had going into that corner during the race,” earning him a 20-second penalty.
Toto Wolff, the team principal for Russell, feels that his driver was partially to blame even though the Spaniard was found to have driven “in a manner that was at very least ‘potentially dangerous'”.
“You can hear the drivers, and they’re split. They obviously understand the track much better than I do. “I believe Fernando was playing aggressive defense, perhaps going too far in trying to break the momentum before the corner,” Wolff remarked.
“George acknowledges some of the blame for the car’s loss there, but he was only attempting to set up an overtake.” In light of this mishap, I believe that you should perhaps adopt some of the karting philosophy when navigating these fast turns.
“Dealing with speed prior to the turn for an improved escape. Who am I to say, though? As an observer, I look at the data and the throttle and brake input, and that was very different on that lap compared to all the others. I’m not sitting in that car because I’ve never been on that level.”
When the Melbourne stewards handed Alonso his punishment, he became enraged. He maintained that his racing was safe and that his goal had been to maximize his speed coming around the corner.
“I knew George was coming, so I was able to catch him quickly. He then spent five or six laps in DRS range, so in order to maintain my lead, I was only completing qualifying laps. In order to defend against him, I wanted to maximize my exit speed from Turn 6,” he stated.
“Any racing driver would do that, and I didn’t think it was risky. Receiving a penalty from the stewards for what was a challenging but fair race is disappointing. Even so, I’m relieved George is doing well. It was unpleasant to see his vehicle in the middle of the track.
Aston Martin, Alonso’s team, decided not to file an appeal against the Spaniard’s penalty. They declared that they “fully supported” Alonso, but they acknowledged that they were unable to file an appeal since there was no new evidence.
“In Formula 1, he is the driver with the most experience. With over two decades of experience, he is the most Grand Prix competitor ever. In numerous categories, he has won multiple world championships, according to team principal Mike Krack.
“It has been difficult to accept the decision to receive a 20-second time penalty when there was no contact with the subsequent car, but we have to accept it. We did our best, but we are unable to request a right of review in the absence of fresh evidence.”
