Fernando Alonso has restated his criticism of Alex Albon and the drivers who race at the back of the Formula 1 grid, after their first-lap collision at the United States Grand Prix. The Alonso Albon criticism was first aired in Austin and repeated, without softening, at Thursday's media day ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The Turn 11 contact in Austin
Albon tried to take 12th place from Alonso into the Turn 11 hairpin on the opening lap at Austin and went into the side of the Aston Martin. Both cars were damaged. Neither driver was penalised, and they finished 16th and 17th.
The incident itself is small: one lap-one touch between two cars outside the points. It became a larger argument because Alonso described it as evidence of a standard, and then chose to repeat the description at the next race weekend rather than let it close.
Alonso Albon criticism restated in Mexico City
At Thursday's media day, Alonso withdrew nothing. "I think it's simply a very low level of driving and lack of talent," he told Sky Sports F1, adding that a team principal should not be satisfied with repeated mistakes and first-lap crashes.
His claim is that the problem is structural rather than personal. Cars at the back of the grid have less grip and a less settled balance, he said, so errors arrive more often: "you don't have an environment which is under control and the car is not welcoming you in a nice way."
He also argued that a first-lap incident need not decide a race. He cited Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton starting from the back after engine changes and still winning, and "Kimi in Monza", saying lap one is not the end of the world when you have the confidence and talent to wait.
Alonso said he would not raise the subject in Friday's drivers' meeting because "it's part of the game". The remedy, in his view, belongs to Aston Martin: qualify higher and get out of that part of the field.
Albon says the grid is stronger than a decade ago
Albon was told about the comments in the FIA press conference and answered them directly. He said he has huge respect for Alonso, whom he looked up to as a kid, but that "it's not nice to hear those comments in many ways" and that he simply does not agree.
"I think level is strong up and down the grid," he said. "I think 10, 15 years ago, the back half of the grid wasn't the way it is now. We don't have pay drivers anymore." A pay driver is one whose seat depends mainly on personal financial backing rather than results.
He closed with a line that will be remembered if the two meet again on Sunday: "Hopefully, we don't cross corners or cross paths in the race this weekend."
Cost cap turns contact into a budget line
Alonso's most concrete point concerns damage. He listed front wings flying and unnecessary touches at the back of the grid, then tied them to the cost cap: teams that break parts every race can pay for them, and teams that cannot absorb the loss.
That is a change in the economics of contact. A front wing stopped being disposable trim in the late 1970s, when ground-effect tunnels made the wing's relationship with the floor a primary performance tool; today it is a load-bearing part of the aerodynamic map, priced and rationed.
He was also candid about Aston Martin's own season. "Some teams cannot score points. It's the same for us this year," he said, describing races in which points require a large number of retirements ahead of him. That framing cuts both ways: it explains the frustration at the back and the temptation to assign blame for it.
What to watch at the Mexico City Grand Prix
Both drivers return to the same track this weekend. Practice runs on Friday at 6.30pm and 10pm on Sky Sports F1, with qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday at 8pm.
Alonso's argument will be tested by the first lap rather than by the press conference. If the two cars meet again in traffic, the question of who is driving well will be answered quickly and in public.
The original report is by skysports.com.
