Formula 1 Mexican GP
What Fernando Alonso is getting wrong about F1 driving standards
Liam Lawson has pointed to a bigger picture beyond the question of whether drivers currently in Formula 1 "deserve" to be there – it's too hard to reach in the first place
Stuart Codling
Published: Oct 30, 2026, 6:28 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
When Fernando Alonso declared "the quality of the drivers in the lower third of the grid is very low" in the aftermath of last weekend's United States Grand Prix in Austin, he inadvertently poked a hornets' nest.
While Alonso doubled down on his criticism this week in Mexico, singling out Alex Albon, many other drivers have spoken up in the Williams driver's defence. Albon himself said, "We don't have pay drivers anymore. If anything, I would say the grid's the strongest it's been in a while."
The issue of whether a particular driver 'deserves' to be in Formula 1 is more complex than it appears. It's not necessarily the case that there is an inverse relationship between a driver's ability and the budget they bring. Sergio Perez, for instance, brings considerable sponsorship to the Cadillac team, and yet it would be difficult to argue that he hasn't justified his position through performance this year – as evinced by his recent contract renewal.
But as Liam Lawson pointed out when asked for his take on the driving standards furore, budget plays a bigger role in creating inequalities much further down the single-seater ladder.
"I think the bigger thing is, Formula 1 is too hard to get into," he said.
"It's too expensive for people to grow up and try and get into. And so, I think there's so many drivers that will never, ever even get the chance to showcase what they can do in a race car.
"Over the years, there's been many cases of drivers who you would say probably didn't deserve it as much, getting the chance over other drivers. So, I feel like that's always been like it in Formula 1. Honestly, it feels like it's heading more in that direction.
"It's just too difficult. The access is very, very hard. It's great that there's two more seats now, but it's a sport of 22 seats in the world.
"It's very, very tough to get into. I feel like it's always just been too hard to get into. That's probably the bigger issue."
Lawson's contention is quite plausible in many ways. In the budget-cap era, the teams have been ring-fenced and become valuable franchises in their own right. Some, such as Haas and Williams, may have a lower overall budget than others or have less technical infrastructure – a hangover from the previous era – but they are no longer scraping by from race to race, as they once were. A driver who brings a budget is now a nice-to-have, rather than a necessity.
Lawson himself benefitted from Red Bull's backing, though its young-driver scheme is infamously brutal
Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Historically, teams further up the grid naturally attracted the healthiest sponsors since they got the most exposure, leaving the tail-enders reliant on pay drivers who often had mixed abilities. It was an open secret. There is an apocryphal story about mid-1990s pay driver Ricardo Rosset, who habitually qualified well off the pace: it's said the weary Tyrrell mechanics transposed the 'R' and the 'T' on his paddock scooter so it read "tosser".
Although the FIA brought in the 107% rule in qualifying to eliminate dangerously slow drivers, the tail-enders arguably became increasingly reliant on paying drivers through the 2000s owing to the machinations of F1 politics. Former rights holder Bernie Ecclestone's divide-and-rule tactics led to successive iterations of the Concorde Agreement, F1's commercial contract, massively favouring the leading teams in terms of prize money distribution.
F1 has a much more financially equitable arrangement now but the feeder formulae still run on cash – and lots of it. The means of getting to F1 is perhaps best expressed through a Venn diagram in which the various sets include super-rich parents, good sponsor connections, and/or some support from an F1 team's young-driver programme.
Even Esteban Ocon, whose father raided the bins at kart circuits to scavenge tyres the rich kids had used only once before discarding, had a helping hand from Lotus and Mercedes. Not everyone can be talent-spotted at an early age.
"I haven't really thought about the level of the grid this year and who does or doesn't deserve to be there," said Lawson.
"But I think the sport just needs to be somehow easier to get into. Because even like going go-kart racing is just insanely expensive. And from a very young age now – I think I got away with it as a kid in New Zealand, I also got very well supported by very generous people around me.
"But I think it starts from a young age where even in go-karts, a kid who's got six or seven engines versus a kid who can't test, can't run new tyres. It's just always a disadvantage. So, yeah, it's a sport where the gear makes a big difference."
Read Also:
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 F1 Mexico GP: Follow FP1 with live timing
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Stuart Codling
"Two steps forward, one step back" – Oscar Piastri explains the route out of McLaren's car woes
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
18 h
"Two steps forward, one step back" – Oscar Piastri explains the route out of McLaren's car woes
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
More from
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso doubles down on poor F1 driving standards: "We all know who we're talking about"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
22 h
Fernando Alonso doubles down on poor F1 driving standards: "We all know who we're talking about"
Herta endorses IndyCar’s international return with Barcelona while marveling at Palou’s dominance
IndyCar
IndyCar
Herta endorses IndyCar’s international return with Barcelona while marveling at Palou’s dominance
More from
Racing Bulls
Who slept worst last night: Nikola Tsolov
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Who slept worst last night: Nikola Tsolov
Racing Bulls "not in a rush" to decide between three "fantastic" drivers for F1 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Racing Bulls "not in a rush" to decide between three "fantastic" drivers for F1 2027
Latest news
What Fernando Alonso is getting wrong about F1 driving standards
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
2 min
What Fernando Alonso is getting wrong about F1 driving standards
F1 Mexico GP: Follow FP1 with live timing
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
26 min
F1 Mexico GP: Follow FP1 with live timing
Sergio Perez to skip F1 Mexico GP fan forum due to illness
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
1 h
Sergio Perez to skip F1 Mexico GP fan forum due to illness
Lewis Hamilton on why he is “built differently” to stay in F1 for the “foreseeable future”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
1 h
Lewis Hamilton on why he is “built differently” to stay in F1 for the “foreseeable future”
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