Fernando Alonso joked that the FIA could disqualify him from the F1 2024 World Championship after his latest trick in defence at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Alonso was hit with a 20-second time penalty at last month’s Australian Grand Prix for “potentially dangerous driving” in defence against Mercedes driver George Russell, even though the two cars did not make contact.
Fernando Alonso aims F1 2024 ‘disqualification’ dig at FIA
Additional reporting by Pablo Hidalgo
The decision split opinion among the F1 drivers, with Alonso himself insisting at Suzuka that he “will not change” his style of racing.
Alonso went on to add that his actions in Melbourne were “completely normal”, claiming his penalty will almost certainly be a “one-off” that will never be applied by the FIA again.
With Aston Martin bringing their first major upgrade of the season to Japan, Alonso produced a fine performance to claim sixth, with the two-time World Champion utilising more defensive tricks to stay ahead of Russell.
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With Russell catching him on medium tyres in the closing laps, Alonso deliberately backed off to give Oscar Piastri – separating the pair in seventh – DRS use to help the McLaren driver defend against Russell.
Russell eventually found a way past Piastri, but was unable to reach Alonso before the chequered flag.
Alonso’s strategy has been likened to Carlos Sainz’s defence at the end of the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, when the Ferrari driver willingly gave Lando Norris DRS to hold back the advancing Mercedes pair of Russell and Lewis Hamilton to claim the only non-Red Bull victory of last season.
Speaking to DAZN F1 Spain after the race, Alonso was wary of commenting on his use of DRS in the latter stages, remarking that the FIA could come down hard on him after the events of Australia.
He said: “I don’t know what to say after what happened in Australia. Maybe they will disqualify me for the rest of the Championship.
“Having [Piastri] behind me was a way of defending Russell. I reduced the battery level at the end of the straights so that Piastri could get closer to me under one second.
“I think Carlos also did this in Singapore last year, so it’s a normal thing that we do at every race.”
Russell issued a light-hearted response to the suggestion that Alonso was playing games in the closing laps of the race, adding: “Fernando, playing? That’s new!
“That was intelligent from him and I didn’t expect less from him.”
Read next: Japanese Grand Prix conclusions: The Red Bull effect, Ricciardo’s last chance and more
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