Alonso Criticizes Albon After Collision Leaves Aston Martin Wounded in Austin

Fernando Alonso's United States Grand Prix was marred by a collision with Alex Albon, leaving the Spaniard with a compromised Aston Martin. The impact at Turn 11 not only left Alonso's car 'destroyed,' missing half its floor, but also dashed his hopes of a points finish. Alonso didn't hold back, suggesting that such incidents are a result of 'very low' driver quality in the lower third of the grid.

During the race, Alonso found himself sandwiched between a Haas on the outside and Albon's Williams on the inside, leading to contact. Despite the damage, Alonso managed to finish sixteenth, just one position ahead of Albon. He later reflected on how the incident affected his race, saying, "I think we lost like half a second or more. The car is destroyed. I saw it in parc ferme; half of the floor is not there. I don't know how we kept on going and how we were semi-competitive."

Alonso speculated that with the car intact, a finish in the points was within reach, considering he was running P12 with only half a car. At one point, he contemplated retiring from the race due to the severe damage, but a new front wing allowed him to continue. He noted, "The car was turning okay to the right and not okay to the left for the last 15 laps of the race. But yeah, we wanted to finish and collect a little bit more data."

The incident highlighted the ongoing struggle between Aston Martin and Williams, with the former still trailing in the Constructors' standings. Alonso emphasized the importance of starting further up the grid to avoid such risks: "I think when you start at the back, there is this risk as well always. I think the quality of the drivers in the lower third of the grid is very low, as we saw today with Alex."

Albon, on the other hand, took a more measured approach in his post-race comments. Acknowledging the damage to his own car, he remarked on the nature of racing with Alonso: "It’s always fun to race Fernando. He’s strong, but he’s fair always. Maybe he thought I was a bit over the edge. I’m sure I’ll find out soon." Both drivers ended the race without scoring points, leaving Aston Martin five points behind Williams as they head to the Mexican Grand Prix.