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Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso has hit out at the driving standards at the back of the grid following a first-lap collision with Alex Albon at the United States Grand Prix. The clash caused severe floor damage to his car, costing him four places and heavily compromising his race pace.
Starting from 12th on the grid, the Spaniard lost a place off the line to a fast-starting Esteban Ocon. Meanwhile, Albon gained three spots and immediately put Alonso under pressure through the opening sequence of corners. Heading into the Turn 11 braking zone, Alonso looked down the inside of the battling Haas cars ahead. However, Albon was already committing to a similar line, and as the space rapidly pinched, the Williams' front-right wheel made heavy contact with the side of Alonso's floor and deflectors.
The impact bounced the Spaniard over the exit kerb, dropping him a further four places down the order. The double world champion eventually crossed the line in 16th place and pulled no punches when reflecting on the race afterwards.
"That was where the heaviest damage was done. We were losing at least half a second, if not more, per lap. The car was completely destroyed—I saw it in parc fermé. Half the floor was missing. I honestly don't know how we managed to keep going and remain somewhat competitive. If the car had been in one piece, points were well within reach today, given that we finished 16th with half a car. Later in the race, more parts fell off the floor and the car simply wouldn't turn properly. We pitted, and I even considered retiring. They swapped the front wing and I went back out. For the final 15 laps, the car turned right fine, but really struggled turning left. We just wanted to see the chequered flag and gather some data," Alonso said.
The veteran Spaniard stressed that starting further down the order always carries inherent dangers, expressing frustration at the level of driving around him:
"The quality of the drivers in the bottom third of the grid is extremely low, as we saw today with Alex. We need to improve the car so we can qualify further up and stay out of that mess."
The race stewards reviewed the incident and deemed it a typical first-lap racing incident that warranted no further action, noting that three cars were contesting the same piece of tarmac into the apex.
Albon offered his own perspective on the Turn 11 clash:
"I think the car on Fernando's outside gave him space assuming there was only one car to his inside. By that point, though, I was already fully alongside Fernando on the apex. The space disappeared instantly. I tried to back out of it and took the kerb, but contact was unavoidable. I suspected he had damage, but my race was compromised too—I ran with a broken front wing for the entire Grand Prix."
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