Oct.30 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has doubled down on his criticism of the drivers at the back of the Formula 1 grid, prompting pushback from Alex Albon and several rivals in Mexico.
After his Austin clash with Albon, Alonso had said the “quality of the drivers” in the bottom third of the grid was “quite low”.
When asked about it again in Mexico, Alonso refused to soften the criticism.
“I think there’s simply a very low level of driving skill and a lack of talent,” said the 45-year-old.
“When you make mistakes repeatedly throughout the season and have first-lap crashes in 50 percent of your races, if I were the team principal I wouldn’t be happy.”
Albon admitted the comments were difficult to hear from a driver he grew up admiring.
“I have huge respect for Fernando,” he said of the two-time champion. “I looked up to him a lot growing up as a kid.”
“Obviously, it’s not nice to hear those comments in many ways. But at the same time, I don’t agree. It’s as simple as that.”
Albon’s Williams teammate Carlos Sainz also rejected Alonso’s assessment.
“All of us drivers have more than enough talent to be fighting at the top,” he said.
“If you put most drivers in a top car, they’d fight for poles and wins.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, said the current standard on the grid is “super, super high” from front to back.