In the lead-up to the Japanese Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso once again responded to the “strange punishment” he received in Australia. Alonso asserts that his punishment was not justified.
“It was clear. “And I think it is still clear,” Alonso answered in Japan when asked if he thought the rules around defensive driving were clear. “It was a bit of a surprise, that penalty in Melbourne.”
“There's nothing we can do about it, we have to accept it, move on and focus here in Japan. But I don't think it will change the way we drive and how we approach racing.”
“There is no obligation to drive 57 laps in the same way. Sometimes we drive more slowly to save fuel, tires and battery.
“And sometimes we drive slowly in corners, or in certain sectors of the circuit, to give DRS to the car behind you because it can help when the second car behind you has a better speed.”
“All of these things are completely normal. It was that way, and it will always be that way in motorsport. We got a penalty, maybe a one-off, and it's a penalty that we won't see again.”
According to Fernando Alonso, the consequences of what happened, specifically the George Russell incident, had an important influence on the referees' decision to impose a penalty kick, although the referees themselves say they were not affected by this.
“If it had happened in Abu Dhabi, where there would have been a big restart track, I think George could have come back on the track a few more meters and tried to attack me on the next lap. It would have been no problem at all.”
