Credits: IMAGO / PanoramiC

Fernando Alonso drove an outstanding race at the Japanese Grand Prix as he beat Mercedes’ George Russell to sixth. The Spaniard had to use every bit of his experience to keep the charging Briton behind him. Alonso did so brilliantly as he cleverly gave Oscar Piastri the DRS to defend himself from Russell. While Russell did eventually get past Piastri, it was too late for the 26-year-old to pull off a move on Alonso. When the Aston Martin driver was quizzed about his tactics, he took a massive dig at the stewards after what transpired at the Australian Grand Prix two weekends ago. As quoted by Formula Passion, Alonso said,

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“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 the DRS to second to protect himself from third. It’s a normal thing. We do it in every race“.

Alonso seems to have taken the dig at the stewards after they controversially handed him a 20-second time penalty for “potentially dangerous driving” in Melbourne when the 42-year-old attempted to defend his position against Russell. Alonso’s penalty was a huge talking point as it divided the F1 community.

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Some drivers such as Charles Leclerc defended the stewards’ decision and called for harsher penalties in such situations. Meanwhile, some other drivers such as Lando Norris believe Alonso was not really at fault. The 24-year-old believes that Russell had ample time to react, and hence, did not support the stewards’ decision to penalize Alonso.

While Russell did believe that the stewards were fair to penalize Alonso in Australia, he did not have any problems with the way the Spanish driver defended against him in Japan. Instead, Russell too appreciated Alonso’s clever tactical play.

George Russell appreciates Fernando Alonso’s “games” in Japan

When asked what he made of Fernando Alonso’s choice of defense at the Japanese Grand Prix, George Russell replied, “Fernando playing games, this is new to me. It was smart from Fernando and I expected nothing less. So, yeah that’s part of racing”.

Alonso eventually crossed the line in sixth, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. While Alonso will most likely be satisfied with his performance after a difficult start to the 2024 season, Russell and Mercedes will be bitterly disappointed.

Heading into Sunday’s race, both Russell and Lewis Hamilton appreciated Mercedes for the improvements they had made. Hamilton even went to the extent of claiming that he felt the best he has had all season after Friday’s free practice sessions.

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However, come the race on Sunday, both Russell and Hamilton just did not have the pace to fight the likes of Ferrari. Moreover, poor strategic calls on the team’s part led to Russell only managing to finish seventh, his worst result of the season so far when he has crossed the chequered flag.

On the other hand, Hamilton finished all the way down in ninth, his joint-worst finish when he has crossed the chequered flag. Since Mercedes continued to have their fair share of struggles, they may have not found the improvement they thought they had made.