Ahead of the 2026 F1 Mexico City GP, Fernando Alonso doubled down on his harsh comments about driving standards at the back of the grid, which fellow drivers like Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon are now challenging.
At the 2026 F1 United States GP, Alonso was involved in a Lap 1 incident with Williams driver Alex Albon. The incident proved detrimental to the Spaniards race, as his Aston Martin suffered severe damage. Ultimately finishing the race in P16, Alonso vented his frustrations over the incident with Albon and criticized the driving standards among the backmarkers of the 2026 F1 grid.
Asked to comment on his fellow Spaniards’ recent statements about poor driving standards at the tail end of the 2026 F1 grid, Williams driver Carlos Sainz felt the comments made by Alonso were specifically targeted at his teammate, Alex Albon, whom he regards highly.
“Well, I think especially harsh a bit towards Alex [Albon].
“I think he was referencing more towards him. I really rate Alex very highly, and he’s a guy that I enjoy racing with and have never shown any disrespect or bad moments with him.
“Also, Fernando [Alonso], I have fun battling with him.”
Driving at the back less rewarding
After successful stints at various teams fighting much closer or at the front, Sainz, for the first time since joining F1 in 2015, finds himself in a car unable to fight for points-paying positions consistently, which he says is “not enjoyable.”
“I don’t know, I would say I’ve never been in the last third of the grid until this year. I used to always be in the, all my life I’ve been having a car to battle for the points.
“At least in my Toro Rosso days, Renault, McLaren, always top ten. It’s the first time in my career I find myself battling in the back end of the midfield, and it’s definitely not enjoyable.”
Rather than poor driving standards, though, Sainz names racing for less rewarding positions as one of the main reasons his experience at the back of the grid is less desirable, noting that frontrunners tend to approach the races with more care as they stand to lose more from errors compared to the back of the field.
“Not so much because of the quality of the racing, it’s because you tend to fight people or race with drivers that have very little to lose, because the best result you’re going to achieve is P20 anyway.
“So, there is sometimes incidents or things that would never happen at the top of the grid just because you have a lot more to lose at the top end of the grid.”
Back of the grid filled with talent able to challenge at the front
Contrary to Alonso’s comments, Sainz believes that the lower half of the F1 field possesses “plenty of talent,” which would allow them to challenge for more rewarding positions.
“I think in general, in my opinion, none of us in the last third of the grid deserves to be fighting for the positions we are fighting.
“We all have plenty of talent to be fighting for podiums, top fives, wins. Fernando, Alex, myself included, and probably all the drivers that are in the [back of the field].
“Checo [Sergio Pérez], or Valtteri [Bottas], you’ve seen them battling in the front of the grid and we don’t do or there don’t tend to be mistakes or incidents that you see at the back end of the grid.”
Sainz reckons tight battle at the back of the grid, increases the margin for error
Considering that the back of the grid battles in much closer proximity to each other than the front runners, Sainz feels that it contributes to the higher rate of incidents towards the back. Noting that increased amounts of “dirty air” and the “concertina effect” are also factors that impact the battles at the back of the grid and make incidents unavoidable.
“I can say that in the back end of the grid there is a lot more dirty air, there is a lot more concertina effect.
“There is more occasions of three or four wide into a corner where the chances of having an incident are a lot higher than what they are at the front of the grid that after turn one everyone is one by one.
“So it’s always going to happen.”
Given the challenges of racing at the back of the F1 grid, Sainz reckons none of the battling outside the Top 10 is enjoyable, which can lead to a “degree of frustration.”
“I would say none of us want to be in the last third of the grid and none of us enjoy being there.
“For sure, there is a degree of frustration from all of us because we would all like to be at the top end of the grid.”
Higher incident rate at the back of the F1 field a matter of circumstance not poor driving standards
Confronted with the fact that Alonso has since doubled down on the statements made after the 2026 F1 United States GP, Sainz acknowledged the higher rate of incidents at the back, but maintained that, in his view, this was more down to circumstances rather than driving standards. For Sainz, the 2026 F1 grid hosts the “highest level of talent” he has observed in his over a decade-long stint in the sport.
“I have been on the grid 12 years and if there is one year that I think is the highest level of talent in the grid I think it is this one.
“I cannot think of anyone that is not up to Formula 1 standards and all the rookies that have come in over the last few years are good.
“For sure some make mistakes but like I used to do when I was younger and I still do mistakes now like you have seen me do this year.
“I do think in the last half of the grid there is more incidents but I prefer to think it is circumstantial and not because of the quality of the grid.”
Stroll thinks incidents to be a natural consequence of close battles
A driver who shared similar views to Sainz was Alonso’s Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll, who disagreed with the two-time champion’s assessment of lowered standards, noting that with more cars fighting for positions at the back, a higher rate of incidents is a natural consequence.
“No, I don’t think it’s like that. I think, just naturally, when you’re in the mid-pack in the first lap, there’s always more action going on because there’s more cars in the middle of the pack.
“You get sandwiched and all that kind of stuff. But it’s when you’re at the front, it’s a bit more really grooved at the start.
“So, I don’t know, I don’t think it’s gotten worse.”
Gasly and Bearman praise high level driving standards of the 2026 F1 grid
Two drivers, glad to avoid being implicated by Alonso’s comments about the driving standards at the back of the grid, were Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Haas’ Ollie Bearman, who took part in the Drivers’ press conference ahead of Sunday’s 2026 F1 Mexico City GP.
“Well, I’m pleased I’m in the first half, so I’ve made the cut myself,” says the Alpine driver, who currently ranks 10th in the 2026 F1 Drivers’ Championship.
Sharing his respect for Alonso and the Spaniards’ proclivity for bold media comments, Gasly countered the Aston Martin drivers’ comments by praising the driving standards of the current grid. Comparing the driving standards to the early days of his F1 career, Gasly said he ranks the 2026 F1 grid very highly.
“You have to love Fernando for the statements he makes out there. I have so much respect for the driver he is, and at the same time, he’s very vocal.
“So, I’m not too sure. I haven’t seen his race. I’m not too sure what he referred to. But I think I would agree. I will say that the level on the grid is probably one of the highest, considering all the drivers we have now, from what I’ve seen over maybe nine years.
“I’ve seen some wild driving approaches when I joined compared to what I see now. But, yeah, I’m not too sure what he referred to.”
Similar to Gasly, Bearman also ranks the quality of the 2026 F1 grid highly, noting that he found Alonso’s assessment “slightly harsh.”
“Well, luckily, I’m just about in the middle third, not the bottom one, so I get away with it.
“But no, I think that’s a slightly harsh conclusion because I agree with Pierre that the level is very high on this current grid.“
Midfield drivers have to be more daring in their pursuit of points
Coming out of the 2026 F1 United States GP, where the Haas pilot himself caused an incident while battling Gasly for position, Bearman pointed to the challenges of having a close midfield fighting for the remaining points-paying positions. To the Briton it thus doesn’t come down to “quality” but having to be “opportunistic” in the hunt for points.
“With the gaps that we face this year, you have to be very opportunistic at times, and that can end in disaster, like it did for me last week with myself and Pierre.
“So, yeah, I wouldn’t say it’s a question of quality. It’s a question of trying your very best and trying to make something happen, which is very challenging when the top eight positions are pretty much all filled by the top four teams.”
Pérez believes car and team to be differentiating factors rather than driver quality
Having experience at the front, middle, and back of the F1 grid, Cadillac driver Sergio Pérez, who recently extended his contract with the American racing team, attributed Alonso’s comments to something said in the “heat of the moment.” In his view, driving standards are comparable across the grid, with Pérez naming the cars and teams as the differentiating factors.
“No, I think obviously, in the heat of the moment, we all say things that we don’t mean or don’t feel.
“Of course, I think the level at the back is as high as at the front.
“If we swapped cars with the guys at the front, we’d have very similar results, or vice versa.
“This is the only issue with Formula 1: you are as good as your car and your team.
“So, I think the level is really high, and when you look at the names at the back, it’s really, really high.”
Leclerc: F1 driving standards are “very high”, cars a key factor of performance
Like most drivers, Ferrari veteran Charles Leclerc also ranked the driving standards of the 2026 F1 grid highly, recalling that back in the karting days Alex Albon, who is at the heart of the debate about driving standards following his incident with Alonso in Austin, was one of the drivers he admired.
“I think it’s very high, very, very high. Just like I was saying earlier, most of the grid grew up together in karting.
“Alex was up there and was actually a driver I was looking up to. He was always one or two categories above me, but he was exceptional.
“There were some drivers who were definitely standing out and who have been standing out throughout all the junior categories.”
Similar to Pérez, Leclerc believes that the quality of drivers across the 2026 F1 grid is “very high,” with the car determining which half of the grid the driver falls into.
“Today, I’m sure the level of the grid is super, super high, whether it’s at the back, in the middle or at the front.
“The only thing that changes is obviously the race car that we’re driving, but the standards are very high.
Hadjar on the difficulties of driving at the back
Another driver who pointed at the challenges the drivers at the back face with much more compressed and marginal performance gaps was Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar, who noted that driving at the tail end was “more difficult.”
“No, I mean, it’s very… I would say even race starts when you’re at the back, they’re a lot harder than when you’re at the front, so in a way, it’s something I wouldn’t say.
“I think there are very unique scenarios, and when you’re at the back, everything becomes more difficult.”
