Alonso flames quality of F1 drivers after race ‘ruined in the first lap’
Fernando Alonso has made a damning claim about the standard of drivers at the back of the F1 grid after a first-lap collision that “ruined” his race in Austin on Monday morning (AEDT).
Alonso was left unimpressed just seconds into the race at the US Grand Prix after Alex Albon’s Williams made contact with the side of his Aston Martin.
Alonso started 11th on the grid for Sunday’s race.5 Getty Images
The veteran Spanish driver was coming into turn 11 when he moved in to avoid contact with Esteban Ocon’s Haas on the outside, only to be nudged out of the way by Albon who was eager to make a move on the inside.
Albon was able to get through the turn but was forced to deal with some damage to his car, but it was Alonso who felt hardest done by.
The two-time world champion was fuming over the first-lap incident, claiming it robbed his chances of finishing in the points.
“It was our best and strongest race of the year, but it was ruined in the first lap,” he told reporters after finishing 16th, just one place ahead of Albon.
“We had good time management, we got out without (too much) damage on lap one after the Albon incident, but the car was still competitive. Today we were P9, P10 on merit.”
Asked to elaborate on the collision with Albon, Alonso had a brutal response.
“Albon forgot that corner was there and that he had to turn left,” he said.
“We (Aston Martin) need to improve and start higher up the grid because the quality of the drivers in the bottom third of the grid is very low at the minute.”
Alonso added: “I think we lost half a second or more (because of that collision).
“The car is destroyed, I saw it in parc fermé. Half of the floor is not there.
“I imagine if the car was in one piece, probably today the points were a possibility. We could have scored points today and maybe got close to Williams in the constructors’ championship, but they made sure that we didn’t have any chance.”
Albon (L) and Alonso (R) compete for position after the collision. Getty Images
Albon had a more positive outlook than his 45-year-old opponent on the incident, admitting “it is always fun to race Fernando” regardless of the final result.
“He’s strong, but he’s always fair,” the 30-year-old said post-race.
“I was on the inside of Fernando, so then I think it pinched. And I tried to get out of the way and get on the curb, but I didn’t make good of it.
“But I had a good amount of fun.”
Kimi Antonelli took out the win in Austin, putting himself in touching distance of winning the world drivers’ championship. Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen finished second and third respectively.
