After Fernando Alonso was hit by Alexander Albon on the opening lap of the US Grand Prix in Austin – which, according to Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer Mike Krack, cost him a considerable amount of downforce – the two-time world champion was highly critical of the current driving standards in Formula 1.
“When you start at the back, there is always this risk. I think the quality of the drivers in the lower third of the grid is very low, as we saw today with Alex. So I think we need to improve the car and start a little bit higher up,” Alonso said in the media pen after Sunday’s race at the Circuit of the Americas.
Although that was understandably a comment made in the heat of the moment – especially as Aston Martin’s pure pace was, according to Alonso, good enough to challenge for points – he made it clear during media day in Mexico City that he still fully stands by his words.
“I don’t know if it’s one third of the grid, because then I saw some reports trying to pick out eight drivers or seven drivers. I’m not specific about the number of them, but I think we all know which ones we are talking about and which ones felt targeted by that comment,” he explained.
I feel like this is just bitterness over his current position from Nando. I love him but this felt over the line. F1 these days isn’t the same as twenty or even 10 years ago (even 5!) when you had several pay driver backmarkers stinking up the tail end of the grid. Even Stroll isn’t as bad as a Mahaveer or Mazepin.
Personally I really liked Sainz’s response to this.
Just for clarity Mahaveer Rangunathan never drove in Formula 1. Mazepin did, and that’s a regrettable episode in light of everything that happened since.
What was sainz reply like?
"I have enormous respect for Alex. He’s a driver I love racing against and with whom I’ve never had any problems or lack of respect. I also enjoy battling with Fernando. Until this year, I’d never found myself in the bottom third of the grid. Throughout my life, between Toro Rosso, Renault, and McLaren, I’ve always fought for points and the top ten. For the first time, I find myself battling at the back of the midfield, and it’s certainly not a pleasant situation. It’s not so much a question of the quality of the drivers themselves, but rather the fact that you find yourself battling with drivers who truly have nothing to lose. The best result you can hope for is 20th place. This generates incidents or dynamics that you would never see at the front, simply because the stakes are infinitely higher at the front.
In my opinion, none of us at the back of the grid deserves to occupy those positions. We all have the talent to fight for podiums, top five finishes, and wins. I’m thinking of Fernando, Alex, myself, and also drivers like Checo or Valtteri, who you’ve seen battle at the front without making the mistakes or suffering the accidents typical of the back rows. At the back of the grid, there’s much more dirty air, heightened concertina effect, and situations where you find yourself three or four-wide in corners, dramatically increasing the likelihood of contact compared to the front of the race, where after Turn 1 everyone is in single file. None of us wants to be there, much less enjoy it. The frustration is common to all of us because we want to be at the top.
As for Fernando’s comments about the overall level of the drivers being low, I’ve been in F1 for 12 years, and this is, without a doubt, the year with the highest level of talent ever. I can’t think of a single driver who isn’t up to the level of Formula 1, and even the rookies who have arrived in recent years are excellent. We all make mistakes. I made them when I was young, and I still make them today, as you’ve seen this year, but I prefer to think that the high concentration of accidents at the back is purely circumstantial and not due to the quality of the grid. Perhaps in Fernando’s case, there’s also the personal frustration of thinking he doesn’t deserve that position, but I can only speak for myself: it’s extremely frustrating to think that two years ago I was winning here in Mexico, and this weekend I’ll probably start 17th, despite being the same driver I was then, if not even better."
I think Alonso is bored of this season, or wants a new teammate.
Or he lost count of Larry’s money.
I too want a new teammate for Alonzo.
He didn’t say it out loud but I’m pretty sure one of those people who he is talking about is Stroll.
I’ve been thinking this for a while too about a few drivers over the past couple of years. For example, before he lost his seat, I kept thinking how shitty and dangerous Tsunoda was and now I feel the same about Lawson. And let’s not forget about Maze(s)pin, back when Russian teams were allowed to compete.
