Fernando Alonso was furious with Alex Albon after their contact at the start of the 2026 United States Grand Prix, and Ralf Schumacher has agreed with the two-time world champion’s view of the Williams driver.

The pair of F1 drivers came together at Turn 11 on the opening lap of Sunday’s race, with an ambitious move by Albon stripping some bodywork off Alonso’s AMR26.

The stewards deemed the moment a racing incident with no further action taken against the Thai driver, much to Alonso’s dismay.

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He then took aim at Albon in the media pen following the chequered flag and lamented the ‘quality’ of drivers who are racing among the ‘lower third of the grid’ (via ESPN).

While some have questioned the fairness of Alonso’s comments, F1 pundit Ralf Schumacher has wholeheartedly agreed with the Spaniard’s comments.

Ralf Schumacher says Alex Albon ‘lacks’ the same ‘composure’ Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have in F1

“One thing is clear: Williams are starting afresh next year; that’s when the clock starts ticking from scratch, as James Vowles never tires of pointing out,” he began.

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“Of course you have to start thinking about what the situation will be in two or three years’ time; developing a young driver takes at least two years, and by then you’d have had to make the decision – and Alex Albon knows that.

“That’s why, I think, he’s missing the mark a bit. The next thing is, he doesn’t want to be overtaken, because the only thing he can show then is that he hasn’t lost his fighting spirit, and so he does things like that.

“That’s simply something he lacks – and I agree with Fernando Alonso on that.

“Fernando is someone who, just like Max Verstappen, can fight very closely, but still has the composure, as does Lewis Hamilton, to ensure he doesn’t cause any damage, and Alex Albon clearly lacks that little bit of composure when the going gets tough.”

Ralf Schumacher also reckons Williams may have made a mistake by re-signing Alex Albon for 2027

On top of that, Schumacher also feels like Williams may have made a mistake by keeping Albon in a full-time race seat for next year.

As Williams’ longest-tenured driver in their illustrious history, Albon was given a one-year extension to his existing deal for 2027, which will see him remain alongside Carlos Sainz at the Grove-based team.

However, Schumacher believes putting their faith in a younger driver would have been more beneficial for Williams: “He’s making a lot of mistakes now, he’s overbraking, and he’s often complaining over the radio.

“That’s not at all the Alex Albon we used to know – the gallant, totally reserved, polite young man. I think he also knows that if something doesn’t happen soon, he’ll be heading into his final year.

“He’s still got a year left at Williams, and if things keep going this badly, he won’t exactly be putting himself forward to other teams. And Williams, in my view, will at least turn to a young driver. They should actually have done that next year, I reckon, but never mind.”