Fernando Alonso slammed fellow Formula 1 drivers in the wake of a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session, the Alpine veteran accusing some drivers of driving beyond their abilities.
After qualifying ninth for tomorrow's race in Baku, the double F1 World Champion told Sky F1: "It was messy, it was difficult to get into the rhythm, into the pace, but it was the same for everybody.
"I think we didn't use all the potential of the car because every time we put a new set of tyres, we didn't use it. It's unfair that the people that crashed, they repair the car and they start in that position tomorrow.
"All the other cars, we are in parc ferme until tomorrow, we cannot touch the car, so why they can change all the parts that they caused the red flag? Maybe one day we are in that position and we take advantage of the rule.
"I think people need to calm down a little bit and drive 98% in a street circuit because if you crash and you start last in the race, maybe you don't drive over your possibilities. And I think today so many people were driving over the possibilities of their car or their abilities," added Alonso who raced at the venue in 2017 (9th) and 2018 (7th) with McLaren.
As for his chances this time around, Alonso said: "Let’s see... If we continue this rate of accidents, we will finish on the podium because there are not many cars at the race."
The 39-year-old Spaniard, back in F1 after a two-year absence, is starting to find the form of old getting the better of younger teammate Esteban Ocon so far this weekend.
The Frenchman, who will start from 12th on the grid, said in the team report: “It wasn’t our session clearly. Q1 went well but into Q2 there were a lot of incidents.
"I got impeded into Turn 3 on my first run and hit the wall because of that, then on the second run the red flag came out so I couldn’t go again. It’s a bit frustrating as the car looked as though it was capable of getting well into the top ten so we will look to convert that tomorrow.
"Plenty is possible with our pace; I am definitely looking forward to the race, which is always a crazy one," added Ocon whose best finish in Baku was sixth place in 2017. (Additional reporting Agnes Carlier)
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