Alonso Issues Honest Statement On His 20-Second Penalty After Australia Incident

Monday, 25 March 2024 at 07:30

Updated at Monday, 25 March 2024 at 10:54

Fernando Alonso received a 20-second time penalty after the 2024 Australian Grand Prix that cost him a couple of places.

The Spanish driver had an interesting race, even leading at one point, but ultimately, he was fighting only for the sixth place with Mercedes' George Russell.

Their battle on the track, however, ended with Russell in the barriers, and after that, even in the middle of the race track, asking for a red flag in desperation, scared for his life.

After the race, Alonso received a 20-second penalty, which saw him tumble down the order to eighth place after previous sixth-place finish at the Albert Park Circuit.

Following the FIA's ruling, the 42-year-old shared his honest statement on social media, admitting her was surprised by the decision to penalize his actions.

"Double points for the team and a better race pace than the rest of the weekend allowed us to cross the finish line in 6th and 7th place."

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"A bit surprised by a penalty at the end of the race regarding how we should approach the corners or how we should drive the race cars. At no point do we want to do anything wrong at these speeds. I believe that without gravel on that corner, on any other corner in the world we will never be even investigated."

As one of the most experienced drivers in F1, Alonso remembers many different approaches to penalizing drivers, and that's probably why he remembered some of the older races, when drivers weren't penalized for utilizing their race craft.

"In F1, with over 20 years of experience, with epic duels like Imola 2005/2006/ Brazil 2023, changing racing lines, sacrificing entry speed to have good exits from corners is part of the art of motorsport."

Still, Alonso accepted the decision and he now looks towards the Japanese Grand Prix, which is the next race in the calendar.

"We never drive at 100% every race lap and every corner, we save fuel, tires, brakes, so being responsible for not making every lap the same is a bit surprising. We have to accept it and think about Japan, to have more pace and fight for positions further up the field. Thank you, team!"