What punishment did Fernando Alonso receive after George Russell crash in Australian GP?

The Australian Grand Prix unfolded into a chaotic spectacle, as drivers pushed the limits with unpredictable moves in their quest for victory. Amidst the intense competition, a significant collision took place between Fernando Alonso and George Russell, adding to the drama of the race.

Swift action was taken by the stewards in response to the incident, imposing severe consequences on Alonso that significantly impacted his overall performance.

Fernando Alonso punished following George Russell’s Australian GP crash?

As the one who caused George Russell’s disaster, Fernando Alonso has taken a heavy punishment, which dropped him from the sixth to eighth position at the Australian Grand Prix.

Russell and Alonso were engaged in a huge battle to secure the sixth position, which neither of them was ready to give up. However, on the final lap, the British driver collided with the wall, putting him off track on Turn 6. His intention was to attack Alonso to ultimately gain more pace on the tracks, which backfired on him, costing him a precious sixth-place finish.

🚨BREAKING: Fernando Alonso is handed a drive through penalty (Converted to 20 seconds) and 3 penalty points for the incident with George Russell #F1 #AustralianGP pic.twitter.com/D3yOp7dGAT
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) March 24, 2024

After the incident, a post-race investigation was held and after the scenario was viewed from many angles, it was observed that Alonso’s car had “lifted slightly more than 100 meters earlier than he ever had going into” on Turn 6, in the final lap.

As for Alonso’s claim that he was only attempting to “get a better exit” on the lap, the stewards still considered lifting and braking to be entirely outside of the FIA regulations, even though they did not have enough information to determine if his intention was to cause Russell problems or not.