Alonso is left alone: "It's not nice to hear that from someone you admire"
Fernando Alonso's repeated criticisms of Alexander Albon and other drivers have not been supported by his teammates, who defend the Thai driver and the quality of the grid.
Although many considered that Fernando Alonso’s criticisms of Alexander Albon and what he calls the last third of the starting grid were a momentary outburst due to the tension of competition, the truth is that this is not the case.
This Thursday in Mexico, the Aston Martin driver reiterated the words he spoke last Sunday in Austin, thus ruling out that his analysis was made in the heat of the moment. And his colleagues on the grid have left him alone in that sense, defending the average quality of the grid and also Alexander Albon.
Alexander Albon defends himself
Carlos Sainz has been one of the drivers who has defendedAlexander Albon against Fernando Alonso's words, but the Thai driver himself has also responded to the Asturian in a very elegant but also firm manner.
"First of all, I would say that I have a lot of respect for Fernando. I think he is a great driver and I have admired him a lot since I was a child," he stated at first, before arguing that more incidents occur among back-of-the-grid drivers.
"I think we are all in our own little battle at the back. I don't think it's so much about the level of the drivers. I would say that the grid is the strongest it has been in a long time, and obviously the post-race comments are always a bit more charged with tension at these moments, so you can always say that they should be taken with a grain of salt," added the Williams driver.
"I thought it was a good battle. I thought we had a good fight. Clearly, he didn't think the same way, but it was a battle that lasted the whole race. Even the incident itself, I thought, was very close regarding the position of the cars on the track", added Albon, reiterating that he doesn’t think he did anything wrong in the incident.
"I reiterate what I said. I have great respect for Fernando. I admired him a lot as a child; obviously, it's not nice to hear those comments when competing against someone you admire, but at the same time, I don't agree. It's as simple as that," Albon reiterated.
"I think the level is high across the grid. I think 10 or 15 years ago it wasn’t. The second half of the grid is not like it is now; we no longer have pay drivers, it is what it is. Let's hope we don't encounter or have any problems during this weekend's race," he concluded, alluding to Alonso's beginnings in Formula 1.
Gasly, Bearman, and Leclerc respond to Alonso
Several more drivers from the grid have expressed their opinions regarding Fernando Alonso's stance. Pierre Gasly started joking and stated he was happy to compete "in the first half of the grid, so I managed to qualify."
"I mean, you have to admire Fernando for the statements he makes on the track; I have a lot of respect for him as a driver, and at the same time, he is very expressive", added the Frenchman from Alpine.
Getting more serious, Gasly didn't want to assess specific actions but defends that, when he debuted in 2017, he experienced more reckless maneuvers than now. "I haven't seen his race. I'm not sure what he was referring to, but 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 the years; I saw some more risky maneuvers when I arrived compared to what I see now," he said.
Oliver Bearman also believes that Alonso's "conclusion" is "a bit harsh, because I agree with Pierre that the level is very high in this current grid. I think, given the shortcomings we face this year, sometimes you have to be very opportunistic, and that can end in disaster, like it happened to me last week with Pierre."
"So, I wouldn't say it's a quality issue. It's a matter of doing your best and trying to make something happen, which is very difficult when the top eight spots are practically reserved for the top four teams," argued the Haas driver.
Another driver from the grid, this time from the upper area, is Charles Leclerc, who believes that the average level of the current grid is "very high. I think it is extremely high." He added that "the majority of the drivers on the grid grew up together in karting. Alex was up there and, in fact, he was a driver I admired. He was always one or two categories above me, but he was exceptional."
"I am sure that the level of the grid is extremely high, whether in the back, in the middle, or in the front. The only thing that changes, obviously, is the car we drive, but the level remains very high," he reiterated.
* This news is an AI translation of the original content. Motenic.com is part of Motor.es.