Fernando Alonso was found guilty of potentially causing George Russell‘s 170mph crash, a dramatic smash that left the British driver fearing for his life at the Australian Grand Prix.

Mercedes-man Russell hit the barriers on the penultimate lap while in pursuit of Aston Martin’s double world champion, his car ending up teetering on its side.

On board camera footage showed Russell fumbling with his steering wheel trying to press the team radio button.

‘Red flag, red flag, red flag, I’m in the middle of the track,’ he implored. ‘Red flag! Red flag! Red, red, red, red, red. I’m in the middle, red! F****** hell.’

The red flag, which would have ended the grand prix, did not come. A virtual safety car was instead deployed by race director Niels Wittich, nullifying the action in a slow-speed conclusion.

George Russell suffers crash on last lap of Australian Grand Prix

George Russell crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix on lap 57 when chasing Fernando Alonso

Russell’s car hit the barrier and got lifted up on its side over the broken wheel of the Mercedes

Both parties were called to give evidence in an inquiry lasting just under an hour, with Russell claiming that Alonso’s unexpected deceleration meant he had to ‘slam on the brakes’.

At 8pm local time, more than three hours after the race was won by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz – following world champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull being licked by flames through a brake failure – a long judgment partly exonerated 42-year-old Alonso of a deliberate act of dangerous driving. But the stewards decided the Spaniard had driven in an ‘extraordinary’ way as the pair vied for sixth place.

The accident occurred at Turn 7, with Russell careering into the wall at an estimated 100mph, having suddenly slowed down.

The stewards found that Alonso broke Article 33.4 of the FIA’s Sporting Code, which reads: ‘At no time may a car be driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a manner which could be deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person.’

Alonso was handed a drive-through penalty, converted to a 20-second sanction, dropping him from sixth to eighth place on the final classification. He was also given three penalty points on his previously clean FIA super licence. Twelve points result in a ban – something that has never happened.

Stewards have given Alonso a 20-second time penalty after they said he lifted more than 100 metres earlier going into Turn 6 – which ultimately caught out the British driver

Alonso told the stewards he approached the corner differently by lifting early and carrying less speed, but only to gain a better exit. Russell, 26, countered that the move was ‘erratic’, caught him unawares and denied him downforce at the corner apex.

The stewards’ verdict read: ‘Telemetry shows that Alonso lifted slightly more than 100 metres earlier than he ever had going into that corner during the race.

‘He also braked very slightly at a point that he did not usually brake (although the amount of brake was so slight that it was not the main reason for his car slowing) and he downshifted at a point he never usually downshifted. He then upshifted again and accelerated to the corner before lifting again to make the corner.

‘Alonso explained that while his plan was to slow earlier, he got it slightly wrong and had to take extra steps to get back up to speed. Nonetheless, this manoeuvre created a considerable and unusual closing speed between the cars.’

However, the stewards could not definitively determine that Alonso’s strange manoeuvre – including four unexplained lift-off-the-gas moments, as Mercedes alleged – was calculated to trigger Russell’s accident.

Alonso was found to have braked more than 100m earlier into Turn 6, which led to Russell crashing as he got close behind the Aston Martin driver

It was a disappointing day for Mercedes as Russell’s crashed followed Lewis Hamilton retiring with an engine issue

The four-man panel, including former British driver Johnny Herbert, added: ‘Specifically, in this case, the stewards have not considered the consequences of the crash. Further, the stewards considered that they do not have sufficient information to determine whether Alonso’s manoeuvre was intended to cause Russell problems, or whether as he stated to the stewards that he simply was trying to get a better exit.

‘Should Alonso have the right to try a different approach to the corner? – yes. Should Alonso be responsible for dirty air, which ultimately caused the incident? – no.

‘However, did he choose to do something, with whatever intent, that was extraordinary – ie lifting, braking, downshifting and all the other elements of the manoeuvre – over 100m earlier than previously, and much greater than was needed to simply slow earlier for the corner? – yes.

‘By his own account of the incident he did, and in the opinion of the stewards by doing these things, he drove in a manner that was at very least “potentially dangerous” given the very high-speed nature of that point of the track.’