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Fernando Alonso criticises Alex Albon after United States GP clash

Alonso said contact with Williams driver Alex Albon on lap one cost him points in Austin.

By , Sports writer

· 2 min read

Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso (file photo) Photo: United Autosports / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Fernando Alonso criticised Alex Albon after their collision at the United States Grand Prix, saying the quality of drivers in the bottom third of the field is very low. Alonso finished 16th while Albon finished 17th.

Key takeaways

  • Alonso and Albon collided on the opening lap of the United States Grand Prix.
  • Alonso said Albon forgot Turn 11 was there and had to turn left.
  • Alonso finished 16th and Albon finished 17th in Austin.
  • Neither driver received a penalty for the incident.

Fernando Alonso has criticised Alex Albon after contact between their cars on the opening lap of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, saying the quality of drivers in the bottom third of the grid is very low at the moment.

What happened at Turn 11

Albon tried to overtake Alonso for 12th place into the Turn 11 hairpin on the opening lap, but went into the side of the Aston Martin driver, damaging both cars. Alonso lost one position at the start from 12th on the grid as Esteban Ocon surged from 15th. The contact left Alonso with floor damage, which compromised the AMR26 for the rest of the race. Neither driver received a penalty and both were able to continue.

Alonso's criticism

"Albon forgot Turn 11 was there and he had to turn left," said Alonso. "We need to get better and start a little bit higher up because the bottom third of the grid, the quality of the drivers is very low at the moment." Alonso qualified 12th, his joint-best Saturday result of the season, and thinks points were on the cards if not for the damage, which cost him around half a second per lap.

Race result and Aston Martin's pace

Alonso finished 16th and Albon finished 17th in Austin. Alonso said it was the best race by far of the year for Aston Martin in terms of competitiveness, with good tyre management, and that they had a P9 or P10 on merit before the first-lap incident. "Despite that, the car was still competitive," he said. "The best and strongest race of the year but ruined in the first lap with the Turn 11 incident."

Albon's response

Albon felt he did not need to apologise for the collision with Alonso as Esteban Ocon was on the outside of the Spaniard and also played a role in the incident. "It's racing. I think there was a car on his outside that squeezed [him]. I was side by side with him the whole way into the corner. It's hard to disappear," said the Williams driver. "I thought we had some good racing. We had a second go at it later in the race. I enjoyed it at least. I hope he feels the same way on the second half. It was good fun."

About Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin. He has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, and has won 32 Grands Prix across 23 seasons.

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