Was Alonso F1 penalty at Aus GP about consequence rather than wrongdoing?

[John S]

I thought at the time Alonso's penalty was justified as it seemed like something extreme had gone on for George to shunt so badly.
Mind you it's not the first time George has misjudged/fluffed a late in the race overtake situation and binned it.

Now however reading some of the drivers views, see article link below, I'm more minded to think the Stewards may have been swayed more by the consequence of George's big shunt than with any real wrongdoing that actually took place.

Usually the Stewards are at great pains to point out that penalties are not linked to consequence but rather to the actual indiscretion perpetrated on, or off, the track.

If George had not smashed into barrier but simply spun and resumed on his way again, or run wide and lost ground, would we have seen a penalty - or any intervention from the Stewards at all? 

From the quoted drivers below most seem to think a penalty was harsh or just plain wrong.

 

https://racingnews365.com/f1-drivers-react-to-alonso-furore-after-dangerous-situation-with-russell

[Jericoke]

Criticizing officiating is the evergreen topic of any sport.  And justifiably so.  We want to know that what we're watching is 'fair', and we've all got our own ideas of what is 'fair' and we're never going to agree 100% of the time.

Most sports, the penalties are either cut and dried (off sides, out of bounds), or have direct impact on another participant (tripping).  In F1 racing, there's plenty of things you can do 'wrong' that don't necessarily cause a problem, and I suppose that's where we are here too.  Was Alonso's manoeuvre illegal because there was a trailing car, was it illegal because the trailing car crashed, was it just plain illegal, or was it an entirely fair move?

I do hope that we can come to an agreement on it.  The drivers need to trust each other, and if the majority of drivers feel that what Alonso did is expected racing, and Russell was the fool caught out by it, then I'll agree with them.