Fernando Alonso hits back at FIA punishment over crash that left George Russell screaming

Fernando Alonso has hit out at the FIA on social media after he was hit with a 20-second post-race penalty at the Australian Grand Prix and given three points on his super license. The Aston Martin driver was deemed responsible for causing George Russell to crash in the final lap of the race.

The pair were battling it out for fifth place throughout the closing stages of the contest, with Russell’s chances enhanced by his fresh tyres. The Brit managed to close within half a second of the Aston Martin ahead before being caught off-guard by an early brake from Alonso heading into turn six.

Russell was sent spinning into the gravel as he attempted to respond quickly, with his Mercedes hitting the outside wall of turn seven and rolling back onto the track whilst upside down. The 26-year-old screamed ‘red flag, red flag’ to his team as he was left helpless in his car, which was on its side and in the middle of the track.

The FIA quickly intervened after the race to penalise Alonso for his role in the accident, but the Spaniard has since hit out at the punishment. He wrote on X: “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.

“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.

“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. 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! “