Alonso: Verstappen did nothing wrong at Spa
Fernando Alonso thinks there was nothing wrong with Max Verstappen's defensive chop on Kimi Raikkonen at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Amid much discussion since the Spa-Francorchamps weekend about Verstappen's aggression against Ferrari's drivers, Alonso has come out in support of the Dutchman.
He claims that the one moment that has caused much discussion – when Verstappen shut the door on Raikkonen along the Kemmel Straight – was nowhere near a breach of the rules.
"I think there is a rule that you cannot move in the braking zones, or you cannot move when a car is alongside you," he said.
"So there is one movement allowed and as long as you are still in front of the car behind.
"I don't think Kimi was side-by-side and Max moved and put him on the grass. It was very late but maybe he didn't judge where Kimi was.
"But Kimi was still behind so the rule as is written is still applicable. It is good."
Alonso does think, however, that one area where things can be improved is in how drivers behave when it comes to moving in the braking zone.
In particular, he thinks what Verstappen did in Hungary went too far.
"We cannot confuse the fans about two completely different incidents in the middle of the straight, like Verstappen or Kimi, or the braking area like what happened to me in Australia where I misjudged the braking point.
"And also Max/Kimi in Hungary, on that occasion, I felt Max was moving a lot under braking into Turn 2 and Max was way too aggressive
"We spoke about that in Germany in the drivers' briefing. All the drivers were not happy with Max in Hungary because it was under braking for Turn 2 – and you cannot move in the braking zone.
"But in the middle of the straight you are allowed to do one move as long as the other car is not alongside you. So everything fits with the incident in Spa."
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