Albon won’t back down as Alonso row follows F1 to Mexico City
Alex Albon arrived in Mexico City with an argument still to settle. Four days after the United States Grand Prix, the Williams driver faced the media at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and was asked about Fernando Alonso.
The two made contact on the opening lap in Austin at Turn 11. Alonso fought through the race with a damaged Aston Martin and finished 16th, one place ahead of Albon in 17th. Neither driver scored. Afterwards, Alonso said the quality of drivers in the lower third of the grid was “very low”, and he pointed to Albon as the example.
Albon began by praising the man who had criticised him. “Firstly, I would say that I hugely respect Fernando [Alonso],” he said. “I think he’s a great driver, and I’ve looked up to him a lot growing up as a kid.” He argued that the problem was not driver level. “I think we’re all in our own little fight at the back. I don’t think it’s so much about the level of the drivers.”
He pointed to Williams’ own swing in form as evidence. “Obviously, last year we had a great season, and this year we’re at the back, I think, the group of us, including Checo [Perèz],” Albon said. “But if anything, I would say the grid’s the strongest it’s been for a while.” Williams finished fifth in the constructors’ championship in 2025 and now sit ninth, five points clear of Aston Martin after Austin.
On the clash itself, Albon saw little to complain about. “I thought it was a good battle. I thought we had a good scrap, so clearly he didn’t think the same thing,” he said. He remembered a race-long fight between the two.
“Even the incident itself, I thought, was quite 50-50 in terms of where the cars were on track.” He suggested the strong words came from the moment. “Post-race comments are always a little bit more in the heat of the moment, so you can take them with a pinch of salt.”
Alonso did not leave it there. Earlier on Thursday, the two-time world champion repeated his criticism, questioning what opportunity Albon thought he had seen in Austin. Albon was asked whether he was disappointed that Alonso had not raised it with him privately or in the drivers’ briefing, and he matched the Spaniard’s stance.
“I’ll double down on what I said as well,” Albon said. “I have huge respect for Fernando [Alonso]. I looked up to him a lot growing up as a kid. Obviously, it’s not nice to hear those comments in many ways. You’re racing someone that you looked up to, but at the same time, I don’t agree. It’s as simple as that.”
He widened the point to the state of the grid. “I think the level is strong up and down the grid. Ten or fifteen years ago, the back half of the grid wasn’t the way it is now. You don’t have pay drivers anymore.” He closed on a wry note about the weekend ahead. “So, yeah, it is what it is. Hopefully, we don’t cross paths in the race this weekend.”
The row sits against a difficult season for Williams. Albon and teammate Carlos Sainz are working with a car that has little left to give, and Albon admitted it was a surprise that rivals were still bringing upgrades. “It is hard to see,” he said. “I think even in Austin, it’s a surprise to us in some way that cars are still being upgraded and still moving forward.”
Williams have turned their attention to 2027. “We’re obviously a lot more focused on next year’s car,” Albon said. “With these remaining races, it’s more about exploring the car and what we can learn for next year.” That means extra test items in first practice.
“There are a lot more test items in FP1, for example, just to try to get up to speed and give anything back to the factory that we can. That’s the mindset we need to have to start next year as well as we can. Yes, it is painful, but hopefully next year we can look back at this.”
Albon was also asked about the Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds, which close the season on 29 November and 6 December. MotoGP riders were looking for assurances before racing in the region, and he backed their approach.
“I think the riders are doing the right things in getting the insurance assurances they’re asking for,” he said. He added that he had not followed the MotoGP side closely and was “not a person to be too knowledgeable about that”.
For Formula One, he said, the situation is one to watch rather than act on yet. “Generally speaking, we do have to wait and see. There are still quite a few weeks ahead of us, so it is obviously a sensitive area.”
The subject has not come up much through the GPDA, but Albon expects it to. “It’s definitely one of the topics that are probably on the list of things we need to discuss. We’ll see what happens.”
First, there is a Grand Prix to run in Mexico City on Sunday 1st November, and Albon and Alonso will both hope their paths stay clear of each other.
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