[ad_1]
A fortnight after receiving a penalty for potentially dangerous driving against George Russell during a final-lap battle in Australia, Alonso found himself having to hold off his rivals once again at Suzuka.
In the closing stages of the race, Alonso was leading an intense fight for sixth place, as George Russell, back in eighth, mounted a late fightback with fresh tires and began to close in on ‘Oscar Piastri, seventh.
Well aware that newer tires would give Russell a huge advantage if they were to fight wheel to wheel, Alonso knew his best hope of disrupting rival Mercedes’ advances was to give Piastri behind him the benefit of DRS.
By keeping the McLaren within a second of him, Piastri benefiting from the increased speed on the straight made it much more difficult for Russell to find a way to overtake.
This was exactly the same tactic that Carlos Sainz used to great effect in Singapore last year when he ensured that chasing Lando Norris was kept within DRS range, as this would help hold back a similar riposte from Russell who progresses to third position.
Alonso’s tactic paid off brilliantly in slowing Russell’s advance and, when the Mercedes driver clashed late with Piastri at the chicane to briefly delay both men, the Aston Martin driver made a break in the final laps to secure his position.
Speaking to the Spanish TV channel DAZN After the race, regarding his defensive plays, Alonso said it was a normal race, but cheekily suggested that after his penalty in Australia, nothing could be taken for granted now.
“I don’t know what to say after Australia, let’s see if I’m disqualified for the rest of the championship,” he smiles.
“Clearly having Piastri behind it was a way of defending myself from Russell, so I was probably taking off a bit of battery in the final straight to catch Piastri within a second.
“Carlos also did it in Singapore last year, and that’s a normal thing in racing.”
Piastri said the play Alonso was planning was pretty obvious to him, as he ultimately lost seventh place to Russell on the final lap after making a mistake at the chicane and losing momentum.
“I could tell Fernando was trying to keep me there by the way he used his energy,” explained Piastri when asked for his view on the events by Motorsport.com.
“With how difficult it is to follow with these cars, it’s a good strategy to prevent a faster car from passing.
“There were a few difficult moments with George but, in the end, I made a mistake and he passed.
“So it’s disappointing to let it go at the end, but I just struggled a little bit in general today.”
Watch: F1 Japanese Grand Prix 2024 Review – Normal Service Resumption
[ad_2]
