Albon rejects Alonso’s criticism of F1’s backmarkers

Alexander Albon has rejected Fernando Alonso’s criticism of the driving standard among Formula 1’s backmarkers, saying the grid has not been this strong for a long time and describing their Austin duel as a hard-fought contest.

Alonso’s criticism followed opening-lap contact with Albon at the United States Grand Prix, which left Alonso’s floor badly damaged. In Mexico, Alonso said he still struggled to understand what Albon thought he could gain from the move, and that the issue went beyond Austin and had persisted through the season.

Asked about Alonso’s comments at a press conference before the Mexico City Grand Prix, Albon urged caution about remarks made straight after a race, which he said often come in the heat of battle. He also said the back of the grid had been different 10 to 15 years earlier.

Albon said the criticism was difficult to hear because he respected Alonso and had looked up to him while growing up. He assessed the Austin contact as roughly 50-50 based on the cars’ positions, described the fight as one that lasted the whole race and hoped their paths would not cross on track during the Mexico weekend.

Pierre Gasly and Oliver Bearman also pushed back against Alonso’s broader assessment, though with different qualifications. Gasly said he had not watched Alonso’s race and did not know exactly what he meant. He considered the current grid strong and said that, in his roughly nine years in F1, he had seen wilder driving styles.

Bearman called Alonso’s conclusion too harsh. He said close margins can make drivers take opportunistic risks, which can go wrong, as he said had happened to him and Gasly the previous week. Bearman added that it is difficult to force an opportunity when the four top teams almost always occupy the first eight places.