Fernando Alonso was given a drive-through penalty, which became a 20-second penalty since the race was over, and he couldn’t serve it, for dangerous driving. He drops to P8.
The Spaniard was defending from Russell to keep his P6. Right on the last lap, Alonso approached turn 6 slower than previously, and the British driver was caught off guard by that, resulting in him crashing.
The stewards summoned the two drivers after the race to clarify what happened and then decided to penalize Alonso for dangerous driving. By taking a look at the Aston Martin’s driver data, the telemetry shows that he was significantly slower in turn 6 than the previous laps.
The report reads: “Telemetry shows that Alonso lifted slightly more than 100m 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.
“This maneuver created a considerable and unusual closing speed between the cars. In considering the matter the stewards focused solely on the wording of the regulation which states “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.” (Article 33.4)
“Should Alonso have the right to try a different approach to the corner? – yes. Should Alonso be responsible for dirty air, that ultimately caused the incident? – no.
“However, did he choose to do something, with whatever intent, that was extraordinary, i.e. lifting, braking, downshifting, and all the other elements of the maneuver 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 the very least “potentially dangerous” given the very high-speed nature of that point of the track.”