Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso has doubled down on his criticism of "low level" Formula 1 drivers following his collision with Williams' Alex Albon in Austin. Albon tried to overtake Alonso for 12th place into the Turn 11 hairpin on the opening lap of the United States Grand Prix, but went into the side of the Aston Martin driver, damaging both cars. Neither driver received a penalty and both were able to continue with Alonso finishing 16th and Albon in 17th in Austin.
Post-race, Alonso stated the quality of the drivers in the bottom third of F1's grid is "very low" and he had not changed his stance in Thursday's media day ahead of this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix. "I think it's simply a very low level of driving and lack of talent," he told Sky Sports F1. "When you make repeated mistakes throughout the season and have crashes and 50 per cent of your race is in Lap 1, if I was the team principal I would not be happy but if they are happy, I'm OK with that." When I see Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton starting at the back when they change the engine or whatever, Kimi in Monza, they still win the races. Lap 1 is not the end of the world when you have your confidence and the talent to wait for one or two more laps."
Alonso says he will not bring up the issue in Friday's drivers' meeting as "it's part of the game" and it is down to Aston Martin to start higher up the grid to "get out of that part of the field". Some teams cannot score points. It's the same for us this year. You go into the races knowing you need eight DNFs to score points, so it's more about driving the best race to the finish line."
Albon was told about Alonso's comments in the FIA press conference and argued the grid is as strong as it has been "for a while". "I'll double down with what I said as well. I have a huge respect for Fernando. I looked up to him a lot growing up as a kid," said the Williams driver. "It's not nice to hear those comments in many ways. You're racing someone that you look up to, but at the same time, I don't agree. It's as simple as that. I think level is strong up and down the grid. I think 10, 15 years ago, the back half the grid wasn't the way it is now. We don't have pay drivers anymore. It is what it is. Hopefully, we don't cross corners or cross paths in the race this weekend!",
Key entities include Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Aston Martin, Williams, and the Mexico City Grand Prix. The controversy highlights ongoing tensions regarding driver quality and race incidents in the lower field.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing