In Melbourne, George Russell experienced a dramatic conclusion to the Australian Grand Prix when he crashed on the final lap while in pursuit of Fernando Alonso.
Russell characterized his crash during the last lap as ‘bizarre,’ especially as it occurred under investigation by the FIA in the aftermath of the race.
The Mercedes driver collided with the barriers at considerable speed while engaged in a battle with Fernando Alonso for the sixth position, ultimately concluding the race under the virtual safety car protocol.
The outcome proved to be disappointing for Mercedes, as they failed to secure any points in Australia. Lewis Hamilton also retired from the race due to a mechanical problem, compounding the team’s struggles.
Following the event, Alonso clarified that he had been grappling with a battery issue and wasn’t preoccupied with Russell’s pursuit during the final lap mishap.
“I was focusing in front of me and not behind,” said Alonso. “I had issues with the battery, which I was managing, and I focused on cars ahead not behind. I saw the car was damaged and I heard he was okay. I was not an easy race in general in terms of pace.”
When questioned about his perspective on the incident, Russell indicated that he was taken by surprise by Alonso braking significantly earlier than usual. Nonetheless, he refrained from implying any malicious intent on his rival’s part and accepted full responsibility for the loss of control of his car’s rear end.
“My take is I’ve gone off and that’s on me, but I was half a second behind Fernando 100 meters before the corner and suddenly he came towards me extremely quick and I was right on his gearbox,” Russell stated.
“I don’t know if he’s got a problem [with the car] or not. We’re off to the stewards so that’s a bit bizarre in a circumstance like this. I’ve got nothing more to say right now, I need to see everything and I’m just a bit disappointed with the race.”
When queried about whether he believed Alonso had brake-tested him, Russell responded: “It’s clear that he braked 100 meters before the corner and then went back on the throttle again and took the corner normally.
We’ve already seen the data of that. I’m not going to accuse him of anything until we’ve seen further but I was right behind him for many, many laps.
“I was half a second behind him approaching the corner and suddenly he slowed up very dramatically and went back on the power. I wasn’t expecting it and it caught me by surprise. That part is on me but it’s interesting that we’ve been called to the stewards.”
