Alonso's 'low quality drivers' claim rejected with clear verdict

At the Circuit of the Americas, Alex Albon tried to pass the former two-time world champion for 12th place at the Turn 11 hairpin on the opening lap and hit the side of the Aston Martin. The stewards called it a racing incident, and neither driver was penalized. In the end, Alonso finished 16th and Albon 17th.

The Aston Martin driver was left frustrated after the aforementioned incident. After the race, he said: "I think the quality of the drivers in the lower third of the grid is very low, as we saw today with Alex."

Albon took a lighter view. He called the duel fun and described Alonso as "strong, but he is always fair."

When Sainz was asked about Alonso's comments, the Williams driver said: "I think we are all pretty very high standards. It's just that sometimes someone has a bit of an off moment, which always happens in F1 today."

Sainz also had a moment after the start with Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad. He was surprised that the Briton's move that nearly pushed him into the wall did not warrant a penalty, and questioned the stewards' consistency after the race instead.

"I'm surprised Lindblad got away with that because, obviously, he's putting someone in the wall and creating what could have potentially been a very big accident," he said.