Fernando Alonso has lashed out at Alex Albon following their Turn 1 incident in Austin. Image: XPB Images
The Aston Martin driver was left frustrated after contact with Albon on the first lap of Sunday’s race in Austin, an incident the Spaniard believes cost him a valuable opportunity to score points.
Alonso had qualified 12th but found himself caught between Albon’s Williams on the inside and Esteban Ocon’s Haas on the outside as the field battled for position.
Albon attempted to make a move down the inside, but the pair made contact, causing significant damage to Alonso’s car and compromising the remainder of his race.
The two-time world champion eventually finished 16th, one position ahead of Albon, and was particularly critical of the Williams driver’s actions.
“Albon forgot that corner 11 was there and he had to turn left,” Alonso said.
“I think the quality of the drivers in the lower third of the grid is very low, as we saw today with Alex.”
Alonso suggested that Aston Martin’s position in the midfield was leaving him vulnerable to incidents involving drivers he believes are not performing at the required standard.
Rather than continuing to battle among those towards the rear, the Spaniard acknowledged that improving the team’s competitiveness was necessary to avoid similar situations.
“I think we need to improve the car and start a little bit higher up,” he said.
The collision proved particularly costly given Alonso’s assessment of Aston Martin’s performance throughout the race, which he considered its most competitive showing of the season.
Despite the damage, he maintained reasonable pace throughout the afternoon and believed a top-10 finish had been achievable.
Alonso estimated that the damage had cost him at least half a second per lap, revealing the extent of the problems when he inspected his car after the race.
“The car is destroyed. I saw it in parc fermé,” he said.
“Half of the floor is not there. I don’t know how we kept on going and how we were semi-competitive.”
His frustration was compounded by the missed opportunity to make ground on Williams in the constructors’ championship.
With Lance Stroll finishing 15th, Aston Martin remains 10th in the standings on seven points, five behind Williams.
Despite Alonso’s criticism, the stewards did not penalise Albon for the collision, with the Williams driver offering a different perspective on how the incident unfolded.
Albon was largely positive about his battle with Alonso, although he acknowledged that the contact had also affected his own race.
“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.”
The Williams driver explained that the presence of Ocon on Alonso’s outside had contributed to the contact, leaving him with limited room to avoid the Aston Martin.
“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,” Albon explained.
“So I imagine he got damaged. I know I got damaged driving around with a broken wing for the race.”
The race was won by Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who extended his championship advantage to 123 points and now needs just two points at next weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix to secure his maiden world title.