Fernando Alonso finishes 16th after collision with Alexander Albon

Alonso’s race frustrations

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso finished 16th at the United States Grand Prix after a first-lap collision with Williams driver Alexander Albon at turn 11. Albon attempted to pass Alonso on the inside of the corner, which caused damage to the Aston Martin car. I observe that this clash dropped Alonso four places from his starting position. He believes he could have finished as high as ninth place without the damage he picked up on the first lap. He noted that the Aston Martin showed the best competitiveness of the year because of its tyre management. He also stated that "the quality of the drivers is very low at the moment" regarding the bottom third of the grid. I find his claim that 33% of the grid consists of "low quality" drivers to be a very blunt assessment of his rivals. He mentioned that despite the damage from the Albon incident, the car remained competitive. He told reporters, "Albon forgot that corner 11 was there and he had to turn left." He also remarked, "I think it was the best race of the year by far for us in terms of competitiveness." He added, "So the best and the strongest race of the year, but ruined in the first lap with the turn 11 incident." He believes that without the damage, the team could have achieved a P9 or P10 on merit.

Hadjar receives steward warning

The stewards at the Circuit of the Americas handed Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar a formal warning following his encounter with Alex Albon during the third practice session. Hadjar, the Frenchman, locked his brakes while approaching turn 1 on a fast lap and had to abort his lap in the closing stages of FP3. According to the stewards, Albon moved to the outside of the corner to avoid impeding the Red Bull driver. Hadjar moved alongside the Williams and steered towards the Thai driver in what the officials described as "retaliatory action" after he ran wide while attempting to complete a fast lap at the Circuit of the Americas. I find the stewards’ decision to label the move as erratic and something that should be discouraged quite direct. Hadjar expressed his anger over the radio, complaining, "What the f**k is he doing? He was sleeping on the racing line." Hadjar also raised his arm to express his displeasure. He had experienced handling difficulties with his RB22 throughout the session while making his final preparations for qualifying. The stewards will assess the circumstances surrounding the encounter before deciding whether any further action is required, though they noted that a more severe penalty would have followed if the action had resulted in a collision.

Practice results and upcoming schedule

Lewis Hamilton led the final practice session with a time of 1:35.930, which was 1.037 seconds faster than Hadjar. Max Verstappen, driving the other Red Bull, finished second, just 0.168 seconds behind the Ferrari driver, while Charles Leclerc secured third place. Hamilton also spoke to stewards after an Audi driver impeded him during the session. I note that the seven-time world champion was the driver who appeared to be impeded by the Audi car. Hadjar, who drives for Red Bull, finished the session behind the Ferrari drivers. Hadjar’s fastest lap of 1:35.930 left him 1.037 seconds behind Hamilton.