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Alonso: “Strange” Australian GP penalty won't change approach to racing in F1
(www.motorsport.com)
As Palmer demonstrated in his video analysis, Alonso has made similar moves in the past, likely with the same intention: catching his opponent off guard and inducing a driver error.
While Russell’s reaction may have been exaggerated, given how closely he was tailing Alonso, the maneuver was unexpected and dangerous, leaving Russell with little time to react. While Alonso has gotten away with such maneuvers in the past, this time the marshals decided to penalize him, though it’s debatable as similar incidents have gone unpunished before. But this crash was clearly Alonso’s fault.