Aston Martin will not appeal Alonso penalty for incident with Russell

Aston Martin will not appeal Fernando Alonso's penalty at the Australian Grand Prix after the Spaniard was deemed to drive in a "potentially dangerous" manner in front of George Russell.

Alonso was handed a 20-second time penalty for the way in which he approached Turn Six on the penultimate lap of the race, dropping him from sixth to eighth in the final classification - a decision issued by stewards more than three hours after the end of the race.

Following the post-race investigation, which included the study of data, replays and interviews with both drivers, stewards said telemetry from Alonso's car showed that the Aston Martin had "lifted slightly more than 100m earlier than he ever had going into" Turn Six on the penultimate lap of the race as Russell chased him down

Alonso claimed that he was simply trying to ensure a better exit from the upcoming corner, with Russell applying heavy pressure as the pair approached the DRS zones in which the Mercedes driver, on fresher tyres, would likely have had his best chance of overtaking.

Aston Martin had the right to appeal but have decided to not do so, two days after the race.

"To receive a 20-second time penalty when there was no contact with the following car has been a bitter pill to swallow, but we have to accept the decision," said Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack.

 

"We made our best case but without new evidence we are unable to request a right of review."