Fernando Alonso claims F1 promoting ‘only DRS overtaking’ after Max Verstappen’s penalty in Austria

After the collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris many drivers and pundits talked about it and the rules of FIA. Fernando Alonso is also one of them who shared his opinion on penalty points taking the incident into consideration.

Fernando Alonso while talking to the media explained about the balance between safety and competitive spirit in racing. He suggested that penalizing drivers with penalty points for racing mistakes could discourage them from attempting to overtake. The Spaniard highlighted that if drivers feared penalties for risky maneuvers, they might adopt safer driving making races less exciting for viewers.

What I don’t get is the danger involved from those maneuvers, because there is no danger. We are taking away the incentive to try an overtaking maneuver. Because if you make a racing mistake, you will get penalized with penalty points.

Fernando Alonso said, as reported by PlanetF1.com

Alonso suggested that the current rules are only biased on DRS overtakes, which are seen as artificial and less challenging. He argued that the penalty system discouraged drivers from attempting genuine overtaking moves, as any mistake could lead to penalty points. This could lead drivers to engage less in wheel-to-wheel battles which would make the races boring. The two-time world champion felt that current rules reduce Formula 1’s natural competitiveness and strategic depth.

So it’s better sometimes to stay behind because they are just promoting only DRS overtaking because you cannot make an attempt to pass anyone because it’s going to be penalty points for one of the two drivers. So this is wrong for me.

Fernando Alonso added

Fernando Alonso admits his ‘mistake’ over incident with Zhou Guanyu

Fernando Alonso believed the penalty points were initially introduced to prevent consistently reckless driving that could endanger others on the track. They aimed to ensure not getting too many penalties without being banned from races. However, he argued that the FIA is beginning to merge genuine racing mistakes with dangerous driving. Verstappen was handed two penalty points to his Super License for the incident.

I think when penalty points were introduced, it was to avoid dangerous drivers to keep accumulating penalties without a race ban. Just to avoid dangerous maneuvers and putting in danger anyone on track.

Fernando Alonso stated

Further, Alonso highlighted a situation where he made a mistake by colliding into Zhou Guanyu at Turn 3. He stated, when a driver makes a racing mistake that affects another driver, like what he did to Guanyu, stewards might give a penalty. This penalty could be a time penalty, like 10 seconds added to the Spaniard’s race time. Alonso explained that this is the way to make up for the mistake and make the race fair.

I made a racing mistake in Turn 3 and I hit Zhou Guanyu and I deserved a 10-second penalty. I think maybe Nico in the race made a racing mistake and you pay the price. You give back the position or you have five seconds or 10 seconds.

Fernando Alonso

Certainly, Fernando Alonso stated the penalties were introduced to penalize reckless drivers and not the genuine ones. Because that can affect the race for the driver who’s making mistakes and the driver ahead or behind him.

In case you missed it:

• Valtteri Bottas claims Lewis Hamilton signed for Ferrari to get ‘back to the top’ in F1
• Helmut Marko admits Max Verstappen and Red Bull ‘not at level’ of Lando Norris after Friday at British GP

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