Fernando Alonso explains Liam Lawson quali antics after rookie's 'screw me' claim

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso.

Fernando Alonso explained why he cut in front of Liam Lawson in qualifying in Austin, with the VCARB driver having said the two-time World Champion “said he would screw me” after their heated on-track battle in the earlier Sprint.

Aston Martin driver Alonso had dubbed Lawson “such an idiot” over team radio for how he defended against him during the 19-lap race on Saturday, with the two subsequently seen in discussions in parc fermé.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

In Q1, Alonso was seen following Lawson out of the pit exit and the two-time World Champion nipped in front of him heading up to Turn 1, to move ahead of him in the queue.

Lawson believed such a move may have been telegraphed on his part, telling his race engineer that “he’s doing exactly what he said he would do”, and that Alonso “kept his word” after saying he would “screw me” after their battle became heated in Saturday’s Sprint.

Lawson added to media including PlanetF1.com afterwards: “He was really upset. I’m not sure why, we were racing for P16, and I don’t know why he was he so upset,

“It is what it is. Hopefully he can get over it.

“I understand he had a pretty horrible race, so I can understand why he’s upset, but if I did anything wrong, I would have got a penalty.”

Alonso, meanwhile, did not say his move in qualifying was in response to Lawson’s defending, but rather that he needed to get a timed lap on the board while on a set of used tyres.

👉 Winners and losers from the 2024 US Grand Prix qualifying

👉 F1 starting grid: What is the grid order for the 2024 US Grand Prix?

When asked why he moved ahead of Lawson on the pit exit in Q1, Alonso explained to media including PlanetF1.com after the session: “Well, because I had the scrubbed set [of tyres], 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 to him.

“But yeah, today in the Sprint, I think he fought very hard, in my opinion, for 16th, 17th, but nothing we can do. And as long as one of the two cars lift off, there is never an accident. So it was my case today.”

When asked about Lawson’s words and if he was trying to “screw” him during qualifying, Alonso replied: “No, not really, but you know, 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 somewhere in the journey.”

Pressed further about what he specifically did not like about Lawson’s defending, Alonso said he did not want to make too big a deal out of the incident, but explained: “I think on the straight, I think we nearly crashed, like I did with Lance [Stroll] two years ago, at 300 something [kilometres per hour].

“And then the way he squeezed out of the corners, you know, to the track limits itself, you know, in lap 1 out of [Turn] 11. But as I said, I don’t want to make a big thing.”

Read next: Sprint data unlocks clues to big US Grand Prix question: Can Ferrari win at COTA?