After retiring from the opening lap of the U.S. Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso has criticised a section of his Formula One rivals by labelling them as ”amateurs”.

Alonso’s race at the Circuit of the Americas was ended prematurely after he was hit heavily by the Williams of Lance Stroll on the entry to Turn 3. Stroll was later handed a drive-through penalty for the incident but Alonso was unable to continue and pulled into the garage at the end of the first lap.

The Spaniard immediately took to team radio to vent his frustrations: ”These guys are impossible to race with”. Alonso then hit out at driving standards in the sport, claiming it is much worse than in other series’ such as the World Endurance Championship, which he currently races in for Toyota alongside his F1 commitments.

“No, I’m not upset, just disappointed because I am nine days here in the US to do a race and I do 600 meters of the race and they push you off,” Alonso said. “So that is the way it is, a little bit unlucky. But it is more a problem for the FIA if they keep allowing this type of driving.

“I say because I drive in other series with amateur drivers in and things like that and there never is a problem. So, there are more amateurs here than in other series.

“The level is lower. I race in other series, in WEC, and they are very aggressive as well and we have three different categories there, some amateur drivers, and no one crashes into each other. It is another mentality.”

Alonso’s most recent retirement means he has scored points on just one occasion since the summer break. Despite his lack of results, Alonso insists he isn’t frustrated with how his F1 career is coming to an end.

“No, not frustrating,” Alonso added. “If I was fighting for the world championship yes. These last races are just a celebration for me, and I’m trying to help the team to score points and we didn’t achieve that today.”