Former F1 driver's clash with Alonso: 'Became another thing in that battle'

Fernando Alonso was penalised for dangerous driving after the Australian Grand Prix. The Spaniard made an attempt to convince the FIA that his pedals were no longer working properly. According to Robert Doornbos, his attempt was not 'Oscar-worthy', he told the Ziggo Sport programme 'Crashing in the Kitchen'.

George Russell crashed late at Albert Park. Alonso was blamed for the Briton's crash. The Spaniard braked a lot earlier than he did the laps before. Russell got too close as a result, and possibly lost control over his car because of the Aston Martin driver's maneouvre.

Doornbos does not think Alonso deserves an Oscar

Doornbos says he was not impressed by Alonso's acting after the incident: "After the accident, he [Alonso] looked in his mirror and he didn't see George Russell. He passes a lap later and he sees George Russell on his side. Then he came on the board radio and started complaining 'Yes, my throttle doesn't work and I have all these problems'. The team went along with that too, like 'Oh yeah, we hope you still make it to the finish'. That was really an Oscar-worthy nomination, but not really."

Doornbos continued: "In the end, the FIA didn't buy into that either, because they saw nothing. Then that story appeared in the media, then he [Alonso] stopped talking about that [the complaints about his pedals]."

Doornbos on own incident with Alonso

According to the former Formula One driver, it is illogical that Alonso braked so early. However, Doornbos points to a moment in the past where he himself was also brake-tested by the Spaniard: "He did that once too, in Hungary. He was punished for that. That was also in free practice. It wasn't about anything. He did that because he was pissed that I had got in his way during his fast lap. He got a penalty for that, but that really became a thing in the World Championship battle with Schumacher."