"Great way to never drive in a higher category": Fans react to Fernando Alonso protege Nikola Tsolov pushing fellow F3 driver in the wall

F1 fans reacted to Fernando Alonso's junior program driver, Nikola Tsolov, deliberately pushing fellow F3 driver Alexander Dunne into the wall during an FP1 session in Australia.

During F3's first practice session, Tsolov was behind Dunne and was on a fast lap. After the Bulgarian driver opened his car's DRS flap and tried to overtake Dunne, the latter weaved a little, which forced Tsolov to hit the brakes and deactivate the DRS.

After this, the ART Grand Prix driver pulled past and swerved to the right, pushing Dunne's car into the wall. Since there was contact between the two cars, the MP Motorsport driver was unable to control the car and crashed, red-flagging the session.

Most fans were unimpressed after seeing how Fernando Alonso's protege reacted to Alexander Dunne's on-track weaving. They criticized Tsolov for his dangerous antics and talked about how his racing career could be over after the incident.

Here are some of the reactions:

"Great way to never drive in a higher category," a fan wrote.

One fan even mentioned former F1 driver Nikita Mazepin, who wasn't exactly famous for his clean driving on the track, and drew parallels between the pair's driving styles.

"Mazepin moment" another fan pointed out.

While most fans were criticizing Tsolov, one fan pointed out how Dunne was also in the wrong for weaving in front of the 17-year-old Bulgarian.

"Dunne was weaving and it’s dangerous though," one fan exclaimed.

Tsolov was the first of two drivers who joined Alonso's A14 Management, a program to nurture junior drivers and give them the opportunity to shine in higher tiers of motorsports.

---

Fernando Alonso's apprentice explains the incident with Alexander Dunne at F3 FP1 at Melbourne

Following the incident between Nikola Tsolov and Alexander Dunne at Albert Park Circuit during F3's first practice session, the latter defended himself and explained his side of the story.

Speaking to FeederSeries, the Bulgarian driver stated that he was unable to overtake Dunne since he was weaving. Tsolov later claimed that he only felt a hit on his rear tire and that it was not intentional.

“I was a bit confused. I arrived on a push lap and I think the MP was weaving, so I didn’t know where to go to get past him because he was on a cool lap or something. I went to the left side and then I just felt a hit under my rear tyre. So I think it was just a bit of a misunderstanding, but nothing intentional from any side. I think it was just a bit unfortunate,” Tsolov said (via PlanetF1).

After the incident, the race stewards handed Tsolov a three-place grid penalty and two penalty points on his super license.