Alonso was handed a post-race drive-through, which was transformed right into a 20-second penalty, for erratic and probably harmful driving within the closing levels of the race at Melbourne’s Albert Park.
Whereas duelling with Mercedes man George Russell, Alonso lifted a lot earlier within the run as much as Flip 6 to get a greater exit onto the next DRS straight as he battled to remain forward in opposition to the faster Mercedes.
Russell was caught out by Alonso’s tactic and crashed off within the Aston Martin’s soiled air. Alonso’s penalty demoted him from sixth to eighth, which the Spaniard slammed as “disappointing” as “at no level can we need to do something flawed at these speeds”.
Talking for the primary time for the reason that incident, crew principal Krack totally backed his driver, saying Alonso “would by no means put anybody in hurt’s manner”.
“Firstly, in motorsport everyone seems to be relieved that George was okay and walked away after his accident,” Krack wrote in a press release shared on Aston’s social media channels.
“I would like you to know that we totally assist Fernando. He’s probably the most skilled driver in Formulation 1. He has competed in additional grands prix than anybody else and has greater than 20 years of expertise. He’s a a number of world champion in a number of classes.
“Fernando is an exceptional racer and he was utilizing each instrument in his toolbox to complete forward of George – similar to we noticed in Brazil final 12 months with Sergio [Perez]. That is the artwork of motorsport on the highest degree. He would by no means put anybody in hurt’s manner.”
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Group, with Mike Krack, Group Principal, Aston Martin F1 Group
Photograph by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Photos
Aston had 96 hours after the race to request a proper of overview and attraction the penalty, nevertheless it has determined not to take action as that may require vital new proof which wasn’t out there on the stewards’ assembly.
The related proof was already out there on the time, with the stewards poring over Alonso’s telemetry.
That confirmed he lifted off the throttle round 100 metres sooner than on earlier laps, tapped the brakes and downshifted, solely to speed up and upshift once more as he stated he realised he had lifted sooner than essential to optimise his Flip 6 exit.
It’s this “extraordinary” slowing down earlier than his standard braking level that the stewards felt warranted a penalty for “probably harmful driving”, even when they could not decide the Spaniard’s intent.
“To obtain a 20-second time penalty when there was no contact with the next automobile has been a bitter capsule to swallow, however we’ve to simply accept the choice,” Krack added. “We made our greatest case however with out new proof we’re unable to request a proper of overview.”
The 96-hour attraction interval is a brand new factor within the FIA’s Worldwide Sporting Code for this 12 months, with groups beforehand having 14 days to submit a proper of overview.
