Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Williams driver Alex Albon fought a long and at times exciting battle during last weekend’s US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Their fight did, however, result in a coming together between the pair in the latter stages of the race, with the result that Fernando experienced significant floor damage to his Aston Martin.
“When you start at the back, there is always this risk,” said the Spaniard post-race in COTA. “I think the quality of the drivers in the low third of the grid is very low, as we saw today with Alex.” Despite Alex Albon having suggested Fernando’s comments might have been “heat of the moment” post-race adrenaline-fuelled remarks, Alonso doubled down on his view when asked during the media day in Mexico whether he had mellowed over the past few days.
Alonso doubles down
“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 on the number of them, but I think we all know which ones we talk about and which ones felt hit by that comment”, Fernando stated.
“That tells you everything, so I still feel the same. That was a mistake that was not needed, and I still find it difficult to understand what the opportunity was that Alex saw in that moment. But it’s not only Austin. Unfortunately, I’ve been in that part of the race for the whole season, so I see things from the car that I cannot tell you.”
When asked if he’d seen a slow deterioration over the years in driving standards, Alonso retorted: “No, I think it’s the same over the years.”
Albon and Sainz Defend the Midfield
Despite this, Albon sought to calm troubled waters by firstly admitting his great respect for F1’s senior driver, before explaining: “I think we’re all in our own little fight at the back. I don’t think it’s so much about the level of the drivers.Obviously, last year we had a great season, and this year we’re at the back, I think, the group of us, including Checo. But if anything, I would say the grid’s the strongest it’s been for a while.”
At the back of the grid, life is tough for even the best drivers, as Albon’s Williams teammate, Carlos Sainz, reveals. “All my life I’ve been having a car to battle for the points, at least in my Toro Rosso days, Renault, McLaren, always top 10.It’s the first time in my career I find myself battling in the back end of the midfield.”
Carlos Sainz is well placed to comment on life at the front and back of the grid, and he suggests that lower down the grid there are “more incidents, but I prefer to think it’s circumstantial and not because of the quality of the drivers. I’ve been on the grid 12 years, and if there is one year that I think is the highest level of talent on the grid, it’s this one,” he said. “I can’t think of anyone who is not up to F1 standards. All the rookies that have come in over the last few years are good.”
The Unique Pressures of Racing at the Back
There are a number of reasons why life is different at the back of the grid than for those racing for podiums and top-ten finishes. For a driver striving for either of these, there’s a natural element of greater caution towards the more risky moves open to them. For a driver battling down in P15, that is not the case, where every position gained is a mark of their current performance.
The IndyCar Points Comparison
This is one of the arguments used by those who propose F1 awarding points to more than the top ten finishing positions.In IndyCar, 1st to 24th place points scale down incrementally, starting at 50 points for the winner, 40 for 2nd, 35 for 3rd,and dropping by one point per position down to 6 points for 24th. Any driver finishing in 25th place or worse receives a flat 5 points.
So there’s an incentive for almost every driver, unlike in Formula One. Battles to beat a rival to P13 often result in more risky on-track battles given there’s little to lose either way.
When asked whether he felt his on-track battle with Alonso in Austin was a particularly aggressive one, Albon played the whole thing down, saying, “No, I thought it was a good battle. I thought we had a good scrap, so clearly he didn’t think the same thing. It was a race-long battle. Even the incident itself, I thought, was quite 50-50 in terms of where the cars were on track.”
Driver Reactions in the Press Conference
Both Pierre Gasly and Ollie Bearman were asked about Alonso’s comments at the FIA official press conference on Thursday. The Alpine driver was first to respond: “You have to love Fernando for the statements he makes out there,” said Gasly. “I have so much respect for the driver he is, and at the same time, he’s very vocal.
“I’m not too sure – I haven’t seen his race, I’m not too sure what he referred to – but I think I would agree… I will say that the level on the grid is probably one of the highest, considering all the drivers we have now, from what I’ve seen over maybe nine years. I’ve seen some wild driving approaches when I joined compared to what I see now.”
Bearman, who finds himself regularly on the fringes of the top ten, also believes racing at the back is tough. “Luckily, I’m just about in the middle third, not the bottom one, so I get away with it,” he said. “But no, I think that’s a slightly harsh conclusion.
“I agree with Pierre that the level is very high on this current grid. With the gaps that we face this year, you have to be very opportunistic at times, and that can end in disaster, like it did for me last week with myself and Pierre.”
Grid Quality and Past Incidents
With the top eight positions regularly filled by the drivers from the top four teams, this only leaves two places for the rest of the field to fight over. Bearman concludes, “So I wouldn’t say it’s a question of quality. It’s a question of trying your very best and trying to make something happen.”
With maybe the exception of one team owner’s son, the current grid is filled by drivers who are not paying for the privilege. Even the year’s only rookie driver, Arvid Lindblad, has scored 38 points and is currently on the cusp of the top ten at most race weekends.
The wildest move of the year can probably be apportioned to Franco Colapinto, who on the restart of the Grand Prix in Baku went flying down the inside of Turn 1 whilst with cold brakes and tyres. The result was he collected his teammate and Lando Norris, with all three being forced to retire.
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