Jean Alesi gives verdict on Carlos Sainz – George Russell first-lap collision in Austin. Jean Alesi on first-lap collision in Austin.

In his post-race Tuesday editorial for the Italian daily newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, former Scuderia Ferrari driver Jean Alesi focused on the clash at the first corner of the United States Grand Prix between George Russell and Carlos Sainz. The Frenchman, in addition to pointing out the mistake made by the Mercedes driver, criticized the race stewards for having punished him with a penalty of just five seconds. A measure that the former Ferrari driver considers insufficient to avoid the “risk of emulation”.

Here are his considerations after the race which took place at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas

In his post-race commentary, Jean Alesi first of all wanted to explain that, in his opinion, the fault of the accident lies exclusively with George Russell, stating that the Briton “dived into the first corner at an excessive speed”.

Jean Alesi therefore wanted to point to point that Carlos Sainz shares no blame for this incident: “I listened to some comments about Carlos Sainz’s possible responsibilities: I disagree. Carlos was overtaken by the better traction of Red Bull at the start, he sought an immediate reply by changing the trajectory to try to overtake Max Verstappen on the next straight. Well, I would probably have done the same thing. Had it not been for Russell, in fact, who was out of his place.” – the former Ferrari driver added.

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Finally, referring to the soft penalty received by the British Mercedes driver, Jean Alesi commented: “These are things that can happen at the start. The race direction can decide to punish or not. If they do give a penalty, however, what is the point of a 5 second penalty? None. Maybe a drive through. Otherwise, if that’s the price, anyone can decide to try such a move again at the earliest opportunity.” – the former Ferrari driver concluded.