Fernando Alonso last race weekend in Melbourne was penalized for dangerous driving, after George Russell, in an attempt to overtake him, lost control of the W15 and hit the wall. Fernando immediately tried to justify himself by saying that he had only defended himself but the stewards did not want to listen to reason and challenged the Spaniard's telemetry to reconstruct what happened. The 20" penalty arrived after the race divided the paddock. Some drivers such as Lando Norris agreed with Fernando Alonso, claiming that Russell had had the necessary time to react. Other drivers such as Charles Leclerc have instead taken Russell's side, shouting for greater safety. On the eve of the weekend of Suzuka the Alonso-Russell controversy continued. The two once again found themselves engaged in a very close battle, which once again saw Fernando defending his position.
Fernando Alonso another tactical defense at Suzuka
As in Australia, Fernando tried in every way to preserve his position in Suzuka. This time, however, in a manual, intelligent and above all clean way. In fact, the Spaniard tried to exploit Piastri's presence to his advantage, giving him the DRS to defend himself from Russell's attack. A more than legitimate defense, which was also appreciated by George himself who was amused by the comparison with Fernando. Both of them are tough guys in defense. “Fernando playing games, this is new for me. He was smart from Fernando and I didn't expect anything less. So yes, he is part of racing”.
Fernando justified his move to the media microphones like this: opening the controversy again with the FIA: “I don't know what to say after Australia. Could they disqualify me for the rest of the championship? It's clear that having Piastri behind me was a way to defend myself from Russell. That's what Carlos Sainz did in Singapore, giving DRS second place to protect himself from third. It's a normal thing. We do it in every race."
Alonso therefore managed to preserve sixth position at Suzuka by crossing the finish line ahead of George Russell and Oscar Piastri's McLaren. If this time Alonso had no problems with his defense, the same cannot be said of Russell and Piastri who were called by the commissioners – for the second time this weekend – to talk about the attack and defense in the final laps of the Grand Prix. In this case it was always Russell who attacked, with Piastri running wide to avoid contact. The Australian held the position, not giving it up to Russell who however overtook him on the track a few laps later. Neither was sanctioned.
