“Low quality!” Fernando Alonso lashes out at F1 rivals

After crossing the finish line in 16th place at the US Grand Prix in Austin, Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso was absolutely livid. A collision with Alex Albon from rival team Williams right at the start of the race had cost him a lot of time – and probably ruined his chances of scoring points. Alonso lashed out at the Briton and the rest of the backmarkers.

F1 star Fernando Alonso on the collision with Albon

Alonso complained after the race: “I was rammed by Alex. We lost about half a second or more because of that. The car is wrecked; I saw it in the Parc Fermé. Half the underbody is missing. I don’t know how we managed to carry on and how we were even remotely competitive.”

Alonso still managed to cross the line, but in P16 – well outside the points. The journey there was not an easy one. Two-time world champion Alonso said: “One side of the underbody was still there, the other wasn’t. I find it quite impressive what the car still managed to achieve. So it remains to be seen what we could have achieved with the car at full power – 9th or 10th place, and therefore points, would probably have been possible today.”

Alonso: “I’ve lost the underbody on the left-hand side. Something probably gave way, and in the process I lost further sections of the underbody. That’s why I couldn’t steer properly anymore. So I came in for a pit stop. I thought about retiring, but then they fitted a new front wing and I went back out. In the last 15 laps of the race, the car steered well to the right but not to the left. But we wanted to finish the race and gather some more data.”

Alonso in twelfth place for a while in Austin with half a car

Alonso reflected: “I can imagine that points would have been possible today if the car had stayed in one piece – a very good chance, in fact, because we were in 12th place with half a car. We could have scored points today and perhaps closed the gap in the Constructors’ Championship. But yes, they made sure we didn’t stand a chance.”

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A dig at Williams. Aston Martin are currently 10th in the Constructors’ Championship with seven points. Williams are just one place ahead on 12 points. Now, from Alonso’s point of view, the race has been ruined by his direct rival, of all people.

Alonso: Low quality in the bottom third of the grid

Alonso went one better: “When you start right at the back, there’s always that risk. I think the quality of the drivers in the bottom third of the grid is very low, as we saw with Alex today. That’s why I believe we need to improve the car and start a bit further up the grid.” Ouch!