Alonso: midfield drivers prefer to crash than lift off 

Fernando Alonso has slammed his Formula 1 rivals’ “aggressive” driving on the first-lap of last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix and believes a change of approach is required.

The McLaren driver received a hit from Sergey Sirotkin’s Williams following a three-abreast moment with Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg on the run to Turn 3 during the opening lap of Sunday’s race.

Alonso’s MCL33 was left “destroyed” with two punctures, as well as front wing and floor damage as he crawled back to the pits. The Spaniard made the most of a crazy race and two Safety Car periods to recover to seventh place and record his fourth consecutive points finish in 2018. 

"For me it could be managed in a different way,'' Alonso said following the race. "The first lap when you are starting in the middle of the group the people don't lift off. 

“When you are in a situation that you will crash they prefer to crash with you than lift off. They are were three cars closing, closing, closing, and no one lift off, and I was on the inside and I took two flat tyres out.”

Alonso was not the only driver involved in a first-lap collision in Baku, as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen came to blows with Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber, while Kimi Raikkonen and Esteban Ocon tangled at Turn 3, leaving the Force India driver in the wall and out of the race. 

The two-time world champion questioned his rivals’ conduct but said he hopes to avoid similar drama in future by ensuring he qualifies higher up the F1 grid. 

“The first lap incident was too aggressive with some of the drivers. It is like a one lap race. That is a shame, it compromised some of the races for the people around, but it is up to us to qualify in the first two or three rows and normally in those positions it is a little bit cleaner.”