Why was Alonso penalised, and will it hurt his Mercedes chances?

MELBOURNE, Australia — Fernando Alonso's controversial penalty at the Australian Grand Prix, the result of driving behavior that irked the Mercedes team he is a strong contender to join in 2025, appeared to be classic bad timing on the part of the double world champion.

Alonso was being chased by potential future teammate George Russell on the penultimate lap when the Mercedes driver lost control of his car and crashed at Turn 6. Although there was no contact between the two, the stewards immediately chose to look at how Alonso applied the brakes approaching this corner.

The penalty he ultimately received, for “potentially dangerous driving”, dropped Alonso from sixth to eighth place and divided opinion within Formula 1. To some, it amounted to a foul professional in a football match, for others, to unfairly penalized defensive driving aimed at keeping a faster car behind.

The fact that Alonso is one of the favorites to replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton in 2025 and finally get the Mercedes seat he has long coveted makes the talk more compelling. As such, the incident has all the hallmarks of a legitimate controversy.

Why was Alonso penalized?

The accusation against Alonso was simple in terms of wording: he had slowed dangerously and unusually on that part of the track, which triggered Russell's accident behind.

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The initial concern was for Russell's safety. His W15 had come to a halt sideways, stranded on its own wheels and broken suspension, stuck in the middle of the track, its underside exposed to oncoming traffic.

Once out of the car, attention turned to the stewards' decision to take a closer look at the incident. Russell spoke to the media before going to this hearing, meaning his quotes do not reflect the final verdict.

“I think I went off and it was my fault, but I was half a second behind Fernando 100 meters before the corner, and all of a sudden he came at me extremely fast and I was just in his gearbox,” Russell said.

When asked if this was a “braking test”, the term used to refer to a driver deliberately and aggressively braking to affect the driver behind them, Russell did not go so far as to be directly agree with this formulation.

“Well, it's clear that he braked 100 meters before the turn and then… he stepped on the accelerator again and took the turn normally,” he said. “We've already seen the data on this, so I'm not going to accuse him of anything until we see further, but I was right behind him for many, many laps. I was half -second behind him approaching the corner, then suddenly he slowed down very dramatically and came back into the flow.

“I just didn't expect it and it took me by surprise. That part is up to me, but it's interesting that we were called before the stewards, so [I’m] intrigued by what they have to say.”

Mercedes director and CEO Toto Wolff, who questions whether Alonso or one of the few other drivers should replace Hamilton in the team next year, said: “I don't want to accuse Fernando of anything because I only looked at “A few laps, but there was braking. The previous five laps that I saw, there was no braking. And this time, there was a brake. “

Even before he knew the matter had been submitted to the stewards, who have access to all the car's data, right down to radio messages between the team and driver, Alonso was talking about an apparent problem with the car.

“Problems with the accelerator,” Alonso told Aston Martin on the radio moments after the incident. “Something's stuck. I'm pushing as hard as I can!”

Was this a legitimate comeback or Oscar-worthy behavior from a man worried he might have done something wrong?

Alonso never raised the gas problem again, neither to the media nor to the stewards. It wouldn't be the first time a driver said one thing in the heat of the moment on the radio and then something different once the adrenaline subsided, but several sources told ESPN they were skeptical to the legitimacy of Alonso's immediate radio messages.

When speaking to broadcasters shortly after the race, the Spaniard changed his tune, saying there was “something with the battery” he was dealing with for the last 15 or 16 laps. Information on his car suggested his engine was stuttering as he crossed the finish line. As with the throttle protest, Alonso did not reiterate his suspicions of a faulty energy recovery system (ERS) when called to explain himself to the stewards.

He did not mention any car problems when he tweeted about the penalty Sunday night.

Mercedes was never convinced there was anything wrong with their car. As suppliers of the engine to Alonso's AMR24, the former world champions had all the data that the stewards would also examine.

Between the hearing and the reading of the verdict, a member of the Mercedes team showed Alonso's throttle power data to ESPN. The graphs showed two clear brakes when there would normally be one, and he was 60 km/h slower than usual through the corner. The graphs showed what the stewards ultimately said: Alonso had not driven like this at Turn 6 at any other time during the previous 57 laps, and that was justification enough to be demoted down the order.

Was the sanction fair?

Sanctions in F1 always divide opinion, but it is important to make the distinction: a penalty does not automatically mean a driver is accused of a nefarious act. There is a clear difference between “potentially dangerous driving”, as the stewards found, and an implied accusation of something malicious on Alonso's part towards Russell.

Alonso clearly felt the move had been a display of his racing talent, a defensive move aimed at helping him keep Russell's Mercedes at bay. We've already seen how good Alonso is at this, something he alluded to on Sunday night, and it's impossible to say categorically that this wasn't an attempt to do so.

Alonso's reference to Brazil 2023 in his tweet also attracted many fans on social media. Alonso was praised following that race for keeping the much faster Red Bull of Sergio Pérez at bay for the latter part of the race, largely thanks to a series of smart moves in the final corners. On this occasion, Alonso had started to take a different line on the left Juncao climb, effectively carrying less speed into the corner to be able to get more out of it and into the long start-finish straight, where Pérez would benefit. an increase in speed from the drag reduction system (DRS).

This intelligent driving and skill in wheel-to-wheel racing was enough to earn Alonso a famous third place that day.

But comparing Brazil 2023 and Australia 2024 is like comparing apples and oranges. Juncao turn at Interlagos is a much slower part of the track than turn 6 in Australia. Alex Albon's huge crash during Friday's free practice, at almost exactly the same time, showed that this is a part of the track where drivers are close to the limit. A small mistake at any time entering, apex or exiting the turn could lead to a big accident. The speed of the corner and the impact that a car's wake of dirty air could have on a rival following it became key factors in the penalty.

The stewards even clarified that Alonso had the right to try a different line in the corner and that he should not necessarily be responsible for the turbulent air caused by his car, but the characteristics of this particular corner proved be the key to alleviate circumstance.

“Did [Alonso] choosing to do something, whatever the intention, that was extraordinary, i.e. lifting, braking, downshifting and all other elements of the maneuver more than 100 m earlier than before, and much more than was necessary to simply slow down earlier for the turn? Yes,” the judgment reads. “According to his own account of the incident he committed, and in the opinion of the stewards, in doing these things he drove in a manner which was at least “potentially dangerous” given the very high speed. nature of this point of the track.

The sanction will raise an interesting question as to what precedent it may set in the future. Expect the right and wrong of the verdict to dominate the media day ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks, the first chance Alonso, Russell and their rivals will have to address it head-on.

Did Alonso miss his chance with Mercedes?

As compelling as it may be, a narrative seems far-fetched. An interesting follow-up for Wolff when he also faces the media before the Japanese Grand Prix will be the verdict he gives after seeing the footage and hearing from the stewards. Unless he thinks Alonso intentionally wanted to put Russell in the wall, it's hard to imagine Wolff letting residual bad blood cloud his judgment on 2025.

Alonso's career has been characterized by burning bridges at the various teams he has driven for, and it would seem on-brand if Sunday's action had hindered a move he had coveted for nearly a decade. The Mercedes course may not be as attractive as it was a few years ago, but Alonso will no doubt relish the idea of ​​taking Hamilton's seat and winning races in his place in 2025.

However, the driving of another Spaniard could well be what deprives Alonso of this opportunity.

When news of Hamilton's move to Ferrari was confirmed in late January, multiple sources told ESPN that Carlos Sainz was not on Wolff's list to replace the seven-time world champion. Fast forward to round three and, with an Australian Grand Prix win under his belt, Sainz appears to have moved to the front of the queue for several of the teams with a 2025 seat up for grabs.