F1
What did Fernando Alonso say to Liam Lawson?
Fernando Alonso reacted angrily to a move made by Liam Lawson in the F1 USA sprint.
Alonso’s eighth-place grid position in Austin came as a surprise to everyone, as did his Q2 lap that earned him a spot in the top 10. He managed to tame a difficult-to-drive Aston Martin, which has yet to benefit from recent updates.
Fernando himself admitted to AS that Q3 wasn’t even on their radar before qualifying: “No, we had doubts. We made a lot of changes to the car after free practice, and again before the time trial. It’s always a coin flip what can happen. The margins are so tight that you can either be out in Q1 or make it into Q3. This weekend, luck was on our side, and I’m happy about that.”
The AMR24 featured a new aero package at the U.S. Grand Prix, but the sprint format, with only one free practice session, has hampered the team’s ability to fully exploit the new parts.
HOW TO WATCH: United States GP
Alonso admits to ‘struggling’ with ‘challenging’ car
“We’re struggling in the corners and on the straights, even with the throttle fully open... We experimented a bit with the setup here. The car seems to be performing slightly better, which is good, but it’s still challenging to drive, and getting the most out of it is tough. We need to keep working. This often happens when you bring upgrades to a sprint weekend—you don’t optimize everything, and we’ll have to find a better setup window in Mexico.”
Alonso was pleased with his qualifying performance but remained cautious about the race: “Qualifying was good, but we weren’t happy three hours earlier with the sprint. The two Haas cars were very quick, and Lewis [Hamilton] is coming from behind, so scoring points on Sunday will be tough.”
Earlier in the sprint, Alonso had a tense encounter with Lawson. The New Zealander aggressively defended on the longest straight at high speed, forcing Fernando to lift off to avoid a collision.
Later, in turns 16 and 17, Lawson pushed Alonso off track, allowing Ocon to pass both cars. Alonso was visibly frustrated, both over the radio and when he confronted Lawson after the session.
“In the sprint, he fought too hard. If one of us didn’t lift, there would’ve been a crash. And that’s what I did,” Alonso said.
“Everyone races how they want, but what he did today was unnecessary. Everyone will have their own opinion, but with 24 races a year, you’re bound to have these run-ins. On the straight, we nearly collided like I did with Lance two years ago, at over 300 kilometres per hour. Then, he forced me wide in the corners, beyond track limits. There are no penalties when one of us lifts, but the moves in turns 16 and 17 were the most surprising,” he explained. It seems the young driver has a lot to learn at the elite level.