Alonso stands by criticism of Albon and drivers at the back of the grid

Fernando Alonso is standing by his criticism of Alex Albon and drivers he considers short of talent. After their collision at the United States Grand Prix, the Aston Martin driver again condemned what he sees as an insufficient standard of driving towards the back of the grid.

On the opening lap, Albon tried to pass Alonso into the Turn 11 hairpin as they fought for 12th place. The Williams hit the side of the Aston Martin, damaging both cars. Neither driver was penalised: Alonso finished 16th in Austin and Albon 17th.

Alonso did not soften his position after the incident. “I think it’s simply a very low level of driving and a lack of talent,” he said. He also criticised repeated errors and first-lap crashes: “When you make repeated mistakes through the season and a big part of your race is on Lap 1, if I were a team principal I wouldn’t be happy. But if they are, that’s OK with me.”

To make his case, the Spaniard pointed to drivers able to recover after starting at the back. “When I see Max [Verstappen], Lewis [Hamilton] starting at the back after an engine change, or Kimi at Monza, they still win races. Lap 1 isn’t the end of the world when you have the confidence and talent to wait another lap or two.” He added that he would not raise the issue at Friday’s drivers’ meeting, calling such incidents “part of the game”. In his view, Aston Martin must start further up the grid to get out of that part of the field.

Alonso also described the challenges at the back of the order. The cars are harder to drive there and have less grip, he said, making mistakes more likely. He considers contacts and broken front wings unnecessary when drivers are fighting away from the front, and believes the cost cap adds to the problem. “Some teams are happy with the cost cap and breaking parts every race. They can pay for them,” he said.

He added that the stewards should not intervene unless something is clearly unsafe. Alonso also discussed Aston Martin’s difficulty scoring points this season: he said the team goes into races knowing it needs eight retirements to score. “It’s more about driving the best race you can to the finish line,” he said.

Albon, asked about Alonso’s remarks at the FIA press conference, defended the overall standard of the grid, saying it had been strong for a while. The Williams driver said he had looked up to Alonso while growing up, but rejected his assessment: “It’s not nice to hear. You’re racing someone you looked up to, but I don’t agree. It’s as simple as that.” He said the standard was strong throughout the field and that the back half was more competitive than it had been 10 or 15 years ago. Alonso, meanwhile, maintained that the drivers he meant were identifiable, without putting a number on them, and insisted the Austin incidents were unnecessary.