Fernando Alonso has refused to back down from his claim that the standard of driving at the back of the F1 grid is poor. His rivals lined up in Mexico City on Thursday to disagree.
The row began at the United States Grand Prix, where Williams driver Alex Albon hit Alonso's Aston Martin on the opening lap and damaged his car.
What Alonso said
After the race in Austin, Alonso said the quality of drivers in the lower third of the grid was very poor, pointing to the clash with Albon.
At the drivers' media day in Mexico, he stood by that view. He said he would not put a number on the drivers he meant, but that everyone knew who they were.
The Spaniard said the contact with Albon was an unnecessary mistake. He added that he had spent the whole season racing in that part of the field and had seen plenty of avoidable incidents from his car.
He accepted that slower cars with less grip lead to more mistakes. But he argued that lap-one contact and broken front wings made little sense for drivers fighting over nothing, especially under the cost cap, the limit on how much each team can spend in a season.
The drivers who disagree
Albon said he respected Alonso and had looked up to him as a child, but would not change his mind. "I don't agree. It's as simple as that," he told the official press conference.
The Williams driver called their fight in Austin a good battle and said the level was strong right through the grid.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc said the standard of the grid was very high, from the front to the back. Haas driver Oliver Bearman called Alonso's verdict a slightly harsh conclusion, and Alpine's Pierre Gasly also rated the current grid among the strongest he had seen.
Cadillac's Sergio Perez said the level at the back was as high as at the front, and that results depend on the car a driver has.
What happens next
The Mexico City Grand Prix starts at 1:30am on Monday 2 November in India, 2pm on Sunday local time.
Albon said he hoped he and Alonso would not cross paths in the race this weekend.
Race it on Late Brake
Austin and Mexico City aren't in Late Brake, but Monza, where the photo above was taken, is one of six real circuits in the free browser game. Go wheel to wheel with the AI rivals there and see how cleanly you can get through the first chicane.
Sources: The Race, Autosport, FIA press conference transcript