"Let's see if I get disqualified for the rest of the championship": Fernando Alonso's cheeky dig at the stewards after F1 Japanese GP

Fernando Alonso took a cheeky dig at the stewards, joking he wouldn’t be surprised if he were disqualified from the championship. Speaking to Spanish broadcaster DAZN, the double world champion claimed he used Oscar Piastri to defend from George Russell in the race.

Running sixth in the Japanese GP, Fernando Alonso had to defend himself from both Oscar Piastri who was behind him and George Russell. In a clever move that paid off, the 42-year-old optimised his batteries to give the McLaren driver DRS against the Mercedes behind him.

But after the penalty in Australia, the Spanish champion reckons nothing can be taken for granted with the stewards. He pointed out that the move was similar to the one Carlos Sainz used to pull Lando Norris ahead in Singapore and defend himself from Lewis Hamilton.

Speaking about his defensive tactics, Fernando Alonso said:

“I don't know what to say anymore after Australia, let's see if I get disqualified for the rest of the championship. It's clear that having Piastri behind, it was a way to defend myself from Russell, so I was probably taking a bit of battery off on the last straight to get Piastri within a second. Carlos did it like that in Singapore last year too, and it's a normal racing thing.”

Oscar Piastri reckons Fernando Alonso deliberately made him succumb to George Russell

Oscar Piastri claims Fernando Alonso was using his batteries tactically to help him defend George Russell. The McLaren driver eventually succumbed to the Mercedes driver, who forced him off track in a controversial racing manoeuver. However, the Briton escaped a penalty for the move, despite not leaving enough room for the Australian.

Speaking to Spanish TV channel DAZN after the race, Oscar Piastri said:

“I could tell that Fernando was trying to keep me there by the way he was using his energy. With how difficult it is to follow in these cars, it's quite a good strategy to stop a quicker car coming through. There were a few tough moments with George but, in the end, I made a mistake and he got past. So, disappointing to let that one slip right at the end but I just struggled a bit in general today.”

Fernando Alonso was penalised severely for a more extreme defensive tactic on George Russell in the Australian GP. The 20-second time penalty given after the race polarised opinions on the matter. The tactic of braking into the corner is a common one used by most drivers but was miscalculated by the Spanish driver and resulted in the Briton losing control and crashing.

Currently, the double champion is eighth in the drivers standings and Aston Martin are fifth in the constructors standings.