Fernando Alonso has doubled down on his criticism of Alex Albon, and of the “very low level of driving and lack of talent” in the bottom third of the grid in general.

Spain’s two-time world champion, who drives for Aston Martin, was furious with Williams’ Albon after their first-lap collision at the Turn 11 hairpin in Austin last weekend, which left both of their cars damaged.

Although neither driver received a penalty, Alonso did not hold back after the race, stating that the quality of drivers at the bottom of F1’s grid was “very low”.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix, Alonso was asked whether the 2026 cars might be to blame, with the “sugar rush” that drivers get on the opening laps when they try to use their boosts. But Alonso was in no mood to back down.

“No, I think it’s simply a very low level of driving and lack of talent,” the Spaniard told Sky Sports F1. “When you make repeated mistakes throughout the season and have crashes and 50 per cent of your race is in Lap 1… if I was the team principal I would not be happy. But if they are happy, I’m OK with that.

“When I see Max [Verstappen], Lewis [Hamilton] starting at the back, when they change the engine or whatever, [or] Kimi [Antonelli] in Monza, they still win the races. Lap 1 is not the end of the world when you have your confidence and the talent to wait for one or two more laps.”

Although Alonso did not name Albon by name, he made reference to drivers “not having good seasons” and being “beaten by their teammates” as a potential factor in their driving.

Albon has been beaten by Williams teammate Carlos Sainz 14-4 in qualifying and finished behind the Spaniard in 11 of the 18 races.

“Some teams cannot score points,” Alonso said. “It’s the same for us this year. You go into the races knowing you need eight DNFs to score points, so it’s more about driving the best race to the finish line.

“Probably if you’re not having a good season, being beaten by your team-mate, whatever is in your head it brings extra frustration but other drivers and teams should not pay for that.”

Alonso, 45, said he would not bring up the issue in Friday’s drivers’ meeting as it was “part of the game” and it was down to Aston Martin to start higher up the grid to “get out of that part of the field”.

Albon was in the main FIA press conference later on Thursday afternoon and was inevitably asked about Alonso’s comments. He admitted they were “not nice to hear”, especially from someone he admired so much. But the Briton – who came through as part of the Red Bull junior programme and previously raced for Toro Rosso and Red Bull – argued the grid was as strong as it has been “for a while”.

“I’ll double down with what I said as well. I have a huge respect for Fernando. I looked up to him a lot growing up as a kid,” said the Williams driver.

“It’s not nice to hear those comments in many ways. You’re racing someone that you look up to, but at the same time, I don’t agree. It’s as simple as that.

“I think the level is strong up and down the grid. I think 10, 15 years ago, the back half of the grid wasn’t the way it is now. We don’t have ‘pay drivers’ anymore. It is what it is. Hopefully, we don’t cross corners or cross paths in the race this weekend!”

Alonso had not actually disputed that the standard was any worse now, saying his comments would have been the same at any point in his career since he made his F1 debut in 2001.

“It’s the same over the years. When you are at the back of the grid, the cars are difficult to drive, more difficult to drive – they have less grip so mistakes are coming more often because you don’t have an environment which is under control and the car is not welcoming you in a nice way, so you make more mistakes.

“But I don’t feel all the incidents in Lap 1 and the touches, the front wings that fly around, all these things are not necessary, especially when you are fighting for nothing at the back of the grid and there is the cost cap, adding to this problem.

“There are teams that are happy with the cost cap and breaking things every race. They can pay for them.”