The Australian Grand Prix turned out to be very eventful for Fernando Alonso and George Russell. Till the last lap, both the drivers were having a decent race. But the Spaniard’s controversial maneuver in Lap 58 caused Russell (behind him) to lose control of his Mercedes W15, go into the gravel at Turn 6, and eventually land the car on its side. The FIA penalized Alonso with a drive-through penalty, which was converted to a 20-second penalty after the race that left the F1 world divided.

Most fans and analysts found the penalty to be very harsh. Alonso himself hit back at the FIA for the ‘surprising’ penalty that demoted him from 6th to 8th place. But some people like former F1 driver Timo Glock felt that it was justified. Joining Glock in that last is another former f1 driver Giedo van der Garde who has unleashed hell at Alonso for his “dirty” and dangerous move.

“I understand the penalty and it really went too far,” van der Garde said on his own DRS podcast, as quoted by Marca. “It was a dirty trick by Alonso. You can see how slow it was going than in the previous corner. Braking in the middle of the straight is really forbidden. I have a lot of respect for Alonso but he really was an a******.” [Translated by Google]

That is quite a scathing judgment from van der Garde. One that both Alonso and Aston Martin might not appreciate. Despite all the opinions and judgments being thrown around on the matter, the Silverstone outfit has decided their response to the situation.

Aston Martin choose not to contest FIA’s 20-second penalty on Fernando Alonso

In matters like these, where a penalty is involved, the concerned team has the option to challenge the stewards’ decision. If additional evidence is found to support their case, the penalty can be overturned. Aston Martin had 96 hours after the race to request a right of review. But they chose not to do so because of a lack of more evidence in the stewards’ meeting. Still, Team Principal Mike Krack justified Fernando Alonso’s actions.

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“Firstly, in motorsport, everyone is relieved that George was okay and walked away after his accident,” Team Principal Mike Krack said in a post-race statement. “I want you to know that we fully support Fernando. He is the most experienced driver in Formula 1. Fernando is a phenomenal racer and he was using every tool in his toolbox to finish ahead of George – just like we saw in Brazil last year with Sergio [Perez]. This is the art of motorsport at the highest level. He would never put anyone in harm’s way.”

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F1 cannot seem to escape the string of controversies in 2024, on-track or off-track. Hopefully, everybody’s favorite 2-time champion has better luck at the Japanese GP next week.