Fernando Alonso has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Max Verstappen's one-place grid penalty in Qatar, appearing to side with the Red Bull driver against George Russell.
The incident stemmed from Verstappen driving slowly on a cool-down lap, allegedly impeding Russell during his warm-up. The penalty cost Verstappen pole position, leading to intense criticism of Russell's arguments to the stewards.
"I lost all respect," Verstappen said, accusing the Mercedes driver of pushing excessively for a penalty. Dutch GP boss and former F1 driver Jan Lammers likened Russell's behavior to "a dive in football."
Red Bull boss Christian Horner also took aim at Russell's approach, denying claims of bias but criticizing the lack of sportsmanship.
"I think it was purely a result of George's hysteria," Horner said. "Unfortunately, there was not much sportsmanship to be seen in this case. It felt like George and Mercedes were blowing it out of proportion."
Dutch racing personality Tom Coronel suggested that Verstappen's strong reaction was also tactical.
"He wants to get into Russell's head now," Coronel told Viaplay. "Max wants Russell to realize that if he p*sses Max off, Max will get him back. Not once, but twice or three times."
Alonso, speaking to Spanish reporters, implied Russell had a role in creating the situation.
"Max was driving slowly, but George was also on a slow lap," Alonso said. "Maybe I'll accelerate towards my rival on my warm-up lap in Abu Dhabi and ask for him to be punished.
"When I drive a slow lap in Abu Dhabi, I will push like an idiot to create a penalty. We need to pay attention to that now," the Aston Martin driver added.
Despite his criticism, Alonso praised the performance of new race director Rui Marquez, who has been overseeing multiple series since replacing Niels Wittich.
"He had to control F1 Academy, F2, and F1 in the same weekend and did a good job," Alonso said. "So I'm happy about that."
