Ex-F1 driver brands Fernando Alonso as an “a**hole” after ‘dirty’ move on George Russell at Australian GP

Fernando Alonso was demoted to eighth place at the Australian Grand Prix.

Ex-F1 driver brands Fernando Alonso as an “a**hole” after ‘dirty’ move on George Russell at Australian GP

Fernando Alonso and George Russell (Via: Imago)

At last week’s Australian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso was penalized for his penultimate lap incident with Mercedes driver, George Russell. The incident laid the basis for controversy about whether the Spaniard should be penalized for his antics or not. Now former F1 driver, Giedo Van der Garde, has called out Alonso for his reckless driving at Albert Park.

A few hours after the race was finished, stewards decided that the manoeuver done by Fernando Alonso at turn six was dangerous, and was thus, given a drive-through penalty(turned to 20 seconds worth of race time penalty) for his trickery. The Spanish driver had lifted off the throttle more than 100 meters earlier than the normal braking point, which led to George Russell catching him at high speeds. The speed difference between the two cars unsettled Russell and saw him crash with barriers at a blind corner risking driver safety.

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Van der Garde saw the former two-time champion’s risky move during the race and later criticized him for it.

I understand the penalty, he really exaggerated. It was a dirty trick on Alonso's part . You can see how much slower he was going compared to the previous turn. Braking in the middle of the straight is absolutely forbidden. I have a lot of respect for Alonso, but he was a real a**hole. Russell was too, but a little less.
Van Der Garde said in the DRS podcast

The Dutchman explained that it was against sportsmanship what Alonso did to Russell. It was unlike his fierce defenses that people know him for and was a costly mistake by the veteran. However, Garde further admitted that it was a mistake by Russell also to have been caught off-guard by the Spaniard, unlike his teammates’ previous experience at Abu Dhabi. But the balance was tilted more towards Alonso.

Eddie Jordan deems Fernando Alonso acquittal from any allegations

F1 experts around the paddock have taken sides on whether Alonso is the one to blame for George Russell’s horrific crash. However, against the Dutchman’s verdict, former team owner, Eddie Jordan has stated Russell to be at fault for the crash.

Fernando Alonso and George Russell
Fernando Alonso and George Russell (Via IMAGO)

The Irish reckoned that it was unfair for Alonso to have been penalized.

I saw it immediately, it was semi-suspicious to the eye. But remember this, that it is Alonso’s position to defend. And we saw what he did with [Sergio] Perez in Brazil. He let Perez past him so that he could get quicker down the straight. He is a very, very clever driver. There’s not many out there on that grid who could actually take on Fernando Alonso in mind games, because I think he is above everybody else. So what happened, only he knows. But it did look to me as if the car slowed. If that’s the case, then it’s up to the driver behind to be able to look out for that.
Eddie Jordan said in an interview with PlanetF1

The 75-year-old affirmed that Alonso’s move was semi-suspicious. However, it is the driver’s responsibility to be ready for any situation lying ahead of him. The 26-year-old was unable to detect Alonso’s move in time and fell prey to the wildly old fox that is Alonso.

Despite the penalty, Russell admitted that it was his fault for the crash and Alonso should not have been penalized. However, the stewards felt the need to penalize Alonso in a bid to set an example for other drivers.

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