Alonso explains anger towards Lawson: 'It was a big surprise'
F1 News
Fernando Alonso has explained why he was irritated with Liam Lawson on Saturday at the Circuit of the Americas. Their day-long rivalry spread across both the sprint race and qualifying. After all of their squabbles, Alonso reacted to everything that happened between them after the dust settled on Saturday.
During qualifying, Alonso passed Lawson whilst exiting the pit lane. The Kiwi was not happy with Alonso's actions. The two-time world champion allegedly said something to Lawson in a conversation beforehand about an earlier incident on Saturday.
Lawson is making his first Formula 1 appearance in 2024, whilst Alonso is entering the 396th race of his career. The two's careers couldn't be any different, but it didn't stop them from butting heads in Texas.
Alonso: 'We fought very, very hard'
After qualifying, Alonso explained what happened between the pair. He also elaborated on the sprint race fight: "Well, because I had the scrub set, so I was not really into a timed lap, so I didn't want to lose more time, and I think it didn't change too much for him. But yeah, today in the sprint, I think, yeah, we fought very, very hard. He fought very hard, in my opinion, for 16th, 17th. But nothing we can do. And, as long as one of the two cars lifts off, there is never an accident. So it was my case to them," the Aston Martin driver explained.
Lawson suggested that Alonso had said he would 'screw' him during his next session. The Spaniard himself would not elaborate on what was said, instead mentioning that his actions were not meant to bother Lawson. "No, not really. But, everyone on track is behaving as he wants. And for me today, it was unnecessary. Everyone can have different opinions. I'm okay with that. And it's 24 races, so you meet some way in the journey." He said.
Alonso's anger explained:
In the heat of the moment, Alonso did seem furious on his radio. The two-time world champion also explained what exactly made him so angry: "Well, I think, yeah, on the straight, I think we nearly crashed, like I did with Lance two years ago at 300-something. And then, yeah, the way he squeezed, you know, out of the corners, you know, to the track limits itself, in lap one, out of 11. But as I said, I don't want to make a big thing, there's, of course, no penalty when someone lifts off in 16th, 17th. That was probably the biggest surprise," the Spaniard concluded.
Alonso will be hoping for some more on-track success in the race on what has been a difficult weekend so far for Aston Martin. Alonso managed to get through to Q3 in qualifying, and points are on the cards as he starts the race in eighth place.
This article was written in collaboration with Cas van de Kleut
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