The Austrian Grand Prix of Formula 1 was marked by controversy. George Russell took pole position while ignoring a yellow flag that was waving due to Max Verstappen’s crash, a maneuver that ultimately earned him the victory and that, surrealistically, was not even investigated by FIA stewards.
The latest irregularity to fall on the side of an English driver that did not go unnoticed on the grid. Especially because Fernando Alonso was indeed penalized during the race, and he was later summoned to the stewards for ignoring a blue flag. Alonso used irony to refer to the investigation.
Alonso Was Investigated for Ignoring Blue Flags
After finishing last and being lapped three times in Austria, Fernando Alonso had to go to the stewards after the race to explain himself. Specifically, the stewards had noticed that Alonso had ignored a blue flag. In other words, he had taken longer than he should have to let a car coming to lap him pass.
A situation that almost forced Alonso to crack a joke: “I’ll go there now. Maybe they’ll give me three minutes of penalty“, joked Alonso, who had still finished last. The Spanish nationality is well known as one of the FIA stewards’ favourites when handing out penalties, but this time Alonso escaped punishment.
In fact, Alonso left a clear message: “It was seen yesterday with the yellow flag…”, referring to the FIA’s decision not to punish Russell on Saturday and let him take pole with a yellow flag. In theory, Russell had lifted off slightly before the corner, which, to cap it off, helped him recharge energy for the straight. His teammate, Kimi Antonelli, aborted the lap.
No ha sido el último en hacer chanza con una decisión a todas luces torticera. Durante la carrera, cuando a Max Verstappen le notificaron que había bandera amarilla, el piloto holandés respondió: “That means I should go flat out, doesn’t it?”, en clara referencia a lo que hizo Russell, precisamente después de su accidente.
Less glee for jokes had Frédéric Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, who lost a pole for Charles Leclerc and an entire red front row due to the FIA’s decision. Vasseur voiced the suspicion that many hold, considering that “these decisions seem to always fall on Mercedes’s side”.
As for Alonso, he ended up penalized, but for another reason. He incurred five seconds for speeding in the pits during the race. FIA things.
Images | Aston Martin, Mercedes
