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F1 Dutch Grand Prix 2025

George Russell learns fate after Fernando Alonso 'dangerous situation'

George Russell has discovered his fate following a bizarre near-miss with Fernando Alonso at the Dutch GP.

Russell Zandvoort
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

Mercedes has been penalised following an incident between George Russell and Fernando Alonso in the closing stages of final practice at Zandvoort. 

The Mercedes driver was investigated by the FIA stewards at the Dutch Grand Prix following alleged erratic driving at the pit entry with 11 minutes remaining in the session.

Russell cruised along the racing line before veering across the start/finish straight in an attempt to enter the pit lane, without realising Alonso was alongside on a hot lap. 

The near-miss caused Alonso to enter the pit lane, whilst Russell took late avoiding action and completed another lap. 

After hearing from both drivers in the summons, it was decided that the King's Lynn-born driver had breached Article 37.5 of the sporting regulations. 

As a result, Russell has received a warning, whilst Mercedes has been handed a €7,500 fine.

Mercedes has received the more severe punishment due to the stewards believing Russell was not correctly informed of Alonso's position on the circuit, creating a "dangerous situation". 

The stewards' report read: "The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 63 (George Russell), the driver of Car 14 (Fernando Alonso), team representatives and reviewed video, timing, team radio and in-car video evidence. 

"Car 14 was on a push lap and was exiting Turn 14 when Car 63 was on a slow lap and had been instructed to enter the pits. Car 14 went on the inside of Car 63 in an attempt to complete the lap but Car 63, taking a wide line before entering the pits, nearly collided with Car 14 at pit entry. 

"Car 63 took evasive action and aborted the pit entry and continued on the track. Car 14 had to abort the lap and enter the pit lane to avoid a collision. It was clear to us that Car 63 had not been warned of the fact that Car 14 was approaching and that it was on a push lap. 

"The team admitted this at the hearing and acknowledged that they ought to have warned the driver of Car 63 but did not do so. Their failure created a dangerous situation where both cars had to take evasive action to avoid a collision. 

"We accept that the driver of Car 63 had no way of knowing that Car 14 was approaching, particularly given the nature of the circuit and the fact that Turn 14 is a blind corner. Merely looking at the mirrors would not have prevented what occurred. 

"We accordingly imposed a fine of €7,500 on the team for failing to warn their driver appropriately. Nevertheless, given the nature of the circuit and the slow speed at which he was travelling, it would have been prudent for Car 63 to have kept more to the right of the track to leave space for faster cars coming around that corner. We also administer a warning to the driver for this."

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RESULTS 2025 F1 Dutch Grand Prix - Zandvoort Qualifying