Fernando Alonso launched a scathing attack on Alex Albon’s driving standards following their on-track contact during the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.
Alonso was left far from impressed with Albon after the Williams driver collided with him on Lap 1 in COTA, with the Aston Martin coming off worse.
The stewards did not deem the incident worthy of investigation, leaving the two to continue their race.
Alonso’s pace dramatically declined after the incident, having started in 13th following a raft of penalties after qualifying.
Finishing the race in 16th, Alonso detailed the damage to his AMR26 as a consequence of the contact and took aim at Albon’s driving.
“I think we lost half a second or more” he confirmed when asked over the time he lost to media as a result of the damage. , including Motorsport Week.
The car is destroyed. I saw it in parc fermé. Half of the floor is not there,” Alonso told reporters in Austin after Sunday’s race.
“I don’t know how we kept on going and how we were semi-competitive. I imagine if the car was in one piece, probably today the points were a possibility. A strong possibility because we were running P12 with half a car.
“We could have scored points today and maybe get close to Williams in the constructors’ championship, but they made sure that we didn’t have any chance.
“I think when you start at the back, there is this risk always. I think the quality of the drivers in the lower third of the grid is very low, as we saw today with Alex. I think we need to improve the car and start a little bit higher up.”
Alex Albon dismisses criticism
Albon, however, dismissed the criticism of his driving and gave his take on the incident that came to define both of their afternoons at COTA.
“It’s always fun to race Fernando,” Albon said. “He’s strong but he’s fair always. Maybe he thought I was a bit over the edge, I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll find out soon. But I had a good amount of fun, I think.
“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.
“So I imagine he got damaged. I know I got damaged driving around with a broken wing for the race.”
Alonso still finished ahead of Albon, despite the damage to his AMR26, showing improved pace across the weekend.
Whether this can be replicated in Mexico City, a track where the high altitude can affect power unit performance however, remains to be seen.
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