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Former F1 driver Timo Glock feels Fernando Alonso knew what he was doing when he pulled the controversial maneuver against George Russell in the Australian GP. The race weekend in Melbourne ended on a contentious note when the Aston Martin driver was handed a 20-second time penalty for potentially dangerous driving.
The later stages of the 2024 F1 Australian GP saw Russell hounding Alonso in a battle for P6. The Mercedes driver had much fresher tires, while the Spaniard was trying his best to hold off the young driver. On the penultimate lap, George crashed out at turn 6 as he lost control of the car behind Alonso.
In what was an investigation of the incident started by the stewards, it was discovered that Fernando Alonso braked 100 meters early which led to Russell panicking. The Spaniard was penalized for an erratic move and was furious at the penalty, as seen in his post on social media.
German F1 pundit and former driver Timo Glock, however, feels Fernando Alonso knew what he was doing. It was a move to disrupt George Russell's rhythm before the DRS zone so that he couldn't pull off an overtake.
He told Sky Deutschland:
“Alonso brakes very early and allows Russell to catch up. Alonso’s idea was to catch Russell off guard, slow him down, and then accelerate early to open a gap. It was so extreme that Russell didn’t expect it at all. He got way too close and lost downforce. Alonso extends his elbows and uses the grey area to gain an advantage. He already knows what he’s doing with his experience.”
Bernie Collins explains the Fernando Alonso-George Russell incident
Former Aston Martin strategist Bernie Collins also gave her opinion on the incident, saying that it came down to how early the Spaniard braked. The fact that Fernando Alonso braked 100 meters before his usual braking points disrupted George Russell's rhythm and as a result, he ended up crashing out.
In a clip shared by Bernie on X, she explained:
“There was a lift 100 metres earlier, a slight brake application as well, and a downshift. So, 100 metres difference into a corner is pretty huge in F1 terms. We’d be telling drivers 10-metre differences if there was anything across drivers that they’d be trying to improve on, so 100 metres is a big, big difference in terms of an approach to a corner which obviously caught Russell off-guard."
She added:
“Russell himself saying that maybe he could have reacted slightly better to it, but the result still remains where Russell is out. We obviously don’t have all the data that the FIA have. They’ve been very clear that they punished Alonso’s actions rather than the subsequent reaction of Russell.”
The penalty dropped Fernando Alonso down two places, which resulted in a P8 finish in the end.
