Fernando Alonso calls for rethink to 'danger' Melbourne issue

Fernando Alonso feels a further rethink is necessary to find a final remedy for a problem child corner at Melbourne's Albert Park after crashing out in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

In an incident-strewn race sparked by heavy pre-event rain, Alonso was one of six casualties overall, with his smash occurring out of Turn 6 when he dipped a wheel into the gravel and was spat backwards into a wall.

Alonso, who was running in 10th in his Aston Martin on lap 33 at the time, suggested that riding over gravel that had been kicked onto the circuit from other drivers had played a part.

Turn 6, which underwent modifications over the winter, proved a thorny issue all weekend, notably due to the proximity of the gravel trap close to the circuit.

The first practice session had to be red-flagged due to the volume of gravel on the surface that had to be cleared by a trackside sweeper, and it caught out many a driver, not least rookie Kimi Antonelli who sustained heavy floor damage after riding over Turn 6 during qualifying.

Following a reprofiling of the circuit a few years ago, the high-speed right-to-left sweep of Turn 6 was introduced. In 2023, Alex Albon crashed his Williams out of the corner, doing so again last year before Mercedes' George Russell was involved in a violent incident late in the grand prix.

The crashes resulted in then-race director Niels Wittich highlighting in his post-race report that the corner required attention. In response, the Australian Grand Prix organisers made changes to Turn 6. Artificial turf was removed, and a half-metre concrete verge was added.

Two-time F1 champion Alonso, however, feels further changes are required. "I don't think I was off track or putting the car on a different racing line than on any other lap before," said Alonso, of his crash. "I found a lot of gravel just there at that moment where I put the rear tyre and I lost the car. I was surprised about that.

"That Turn 6 design is probably not the best, bringing gravel to the track and not away from it. But it was the same for everybody. A mistake today, and in five days [at the Chinese Grand Prix], we have another go."

Asked by RacingNews365 whether a further rethink is required around Turn 6, he replied: "Yeah, I think so. We had a lot of damaged cars. I think in qualifying, Antonelli destroyed the floor there.

"We should never have a corner where the gravel goes into the track, because that's a danger for drivers, marshals, everyone. So that's the number one priority. I think Turn 6 needs a little bit of a trick."