Breaking news
Formula 1 United States GP
Alonso says there's "more amateurs" in F1 than in WEC
Fernando Alonso says there are "more amateur" drivers in Formula 1 than in the World Endurance Championship after his crash with Lance Stroll in the United States Grand Prix.
Pablo Elizalde
Edited: Oct 21, 2018, 9:38 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Alonso was hit by Williams driver Stroll as they approached the esses on the opening lap, the contact causing heavy damage to the McLaren, which retired after returning to the pits.
Stroll was able to continue and was given a drive-through penalty for causing the crash.
Alonso, who was also involved in an incident with Stroll in Japan, hit out at the FIA for not doing enough to stop that kind of driving.
"I'm not upset. I'm disappointed because I'm nine days here in the US to do a race and I do 600 meters of the race and they push you off," said Alonso.
"That's the way it is, but it's more a problem for the FIA if they keep allowing this type of driving. I drive in another series with amateur drivers, theoretically, and there has never been a problem.
"There are more amateurs here than in other series," added the Spaniard, who races in the WEC with Toyota.
"Maybe when there's a big crash they will do something.
"Until then we'll try to have fun in other categories where we race against 34 cars, against amateur people, against 60-year-old men and nothing ever happens.
"Here we need bumpers, like the rental go-karts, so we can all crash into each other."
The two-time champion, who is retiring from F1 at the end of the year, believes the level of the drivers currently competing in Formula 1 is lower than it was in the past.
When asked if drivers in F1 where more aggressive than in WEC, he said: "No, the level is lower.
"I race in the WEC and they are very aggressive as well and we have three different categories there, some amateur drivers in the GTE-AM, but no one crashes into each other. There's another mentality.
"Sometimes you make a mistake or you try to take a risk at the start, or you can overshoot your braking point or make a mistake.
"But it's like Spa, where you start and suddenly they are playing bowling with you. Here again, you start and they play bowling with you and you have the bad luck of having to retire."
After the race, however, Alonso took to Twitter to dial back on the criticism after seeing replays of the incident.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Ricciardo "put his fist through wall" after US GP exit
Next article Mercedes "made it hard for ourselves" in US GP - Hamilton
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Pablo Elizalde
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
MotoGP
MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
Formula 1
Formula 1
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
More from
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso backs IndyCar Barcelona race but warns against wider global expansion
IndyCar
IndyCar 8 h
Fernando Alonso backs IndyCar Barcelona race but warns against wider global expansion
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brazilian GP
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
More from
McLaren
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"
Latest news
F1 United States GP: Charles Leclerc completes perfect Friday by topping FP2
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
22 min
F1 United States GP: Charles Leclerc completes perfect Friday by topping FP2
Tony Stewart: violent Talladega Truck wreck "knocked the wind out of me"
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Talladega
58 min
Tony Stewart: violent Talladega Truck wreck "knocked the wind out of me"
Cleetus McFarland “pissed” after early Talladega NASCAR Truck crash
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Talladega
1 h
Cleetus McFarland “pissed” after early Talladega NASCAR Truck crash
F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - Leclerc on top in FP2
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - Leclerc on top in FP2
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe