The Aston Martin Formula 1 driver, Fernando Alonso, has been summoned by the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix to discuss his possible involvement in George Russell’s accident on the last lap. Russell was closing in on Alonso for sixth position when he lost control of his Mercedes W15 at turn 6/7, hitting the tire wall and flipping sideways. The stewards requested Alonso and a representative from Aston Martin to appear before them to address the incident. No specific reason was given for the summons, other than it being related to the incident at turns 6-7 on the last lap.
After the race, Alonso spoke to Sky Sports F1 and stated that his focus was on what was ahead of him, not what was happening behind. He mentioned having a battery issue during the last 15 laps of the race, but did not provide further details. Alonso acknowledged that Russell had been closing in on him for several laps, within the DRS zone, and that he was trying to maintain his pace by driving qualifying laps.
Russell, while not accusing Alonso of any wrongdoing, found it interesting that the stewards had called Alonso for a meeting. He described the moments leading up to the accident, mentioning that he was half a second behind Alonso and suddenly the Aston Martin driver closed in rapidly, catching him off guard. Russell expressed uncertainty about whether Alonso had a problem with his car or not, but noted that Alonso braked before the corner and then accelerated normally, as seen in the available data. Russell stated that he will not make any accusations until more information is provided by the stewards.
The on-board images and radio transmissions from Alonso’s car during the race corroborate his claim that he was facing issues with the Aston Martin. He repeatedly informed his team about something unusual with the accelerator, and the images show abnormal vibrations and sounds. At the end of the race, Alonso coasted to the pit area in neutral, asking the team if driving back to the pits would risk damaging the engine.
