FIA issue punishment verdict after controversial incident with F1 champion

The FIA race stewards have come to a decision regarding a controversial move from George Russell on two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Both Russell and Alonso were completing their final runs in FP3 at Zandvoort, when the Spaniard hurtled down the straight behind the Mercedes star.

Russell however, was planning to enter the pits but did not make it clear which line he was taking, which prompted Alonso to attempt an overtake on the inside of the Brit.

Suddenly, Russell swung right to come into the pits and Alonso was required to take evasive action to avoid a collision.

The incident forced Alonso into the pits, who originally intended to stay out on track, and Russell remained on track when he meant to go into the pits.

While no damage was done to either driver, the stewards placed the pair under investigation for an alleged breach of Article 37.5 and/or Article 33.4 in the sporting regulations.

The first article refers to Russell allegedly impeding Alonso, while the second references the Brit driving erratically at the pit entry.

FIA announce verdict after Russell and Alonso investigation

After reviewing the incident, the stewards have issued a fine of €7,500 to Mercedes and a warning to Russell.

The team have been fined instead of their driver, because they failed to warn Russell that Alonso was approaching and took into account Turn 14 being a blind corner.

Crucially, the stewards stated that merely looking at the mirrors would not have prevented what occurred, contrary to Alonso's protests via team radio.

However, Russell received a warning from the stewards, who claimed he should have kept more to his right to leave space for faster cars coming round the corner.

Russell and Alonso looked competitive across the three practice sessions at the Dutch GP, with the Aston Martin star splitting the two McLarens in FP2 on Friday.

While Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri recovered their pace during Saturday's session, Russell was the best of the rest heading into qualifying.

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