Pierre Gasly says Fernando Alonso’s driving was “unfair” after the two made contact in the first chicane during the early laps of the Italian Grand Prix.

The Toro Rosso driver accused Alonso of forcing him off the circuit after the pair battled during the restart of the race following the early Safety Car.

Speaking after the race, Gasly claims the incident left him with damage that severely compromised his race.

“Basically we came up after the Safety Car into turn one side by side and I went on the outside and he pushed me completely out of the track,” says Gasly.

“I tried to stay on track as much as I could but he just didn’t leave me the space so I had to jump over the kerb and then he also touched me and completely damaged all the right side of my floor. From there on, I think it was lap eight or something my car was completely broken and I was sliding everywhere.

Alonso would soon retire from the race with an electrical problem, while Gasly would finish in 15th place. Gasly says he believes Alonso is driving more aggressively since he announced he would not be racing in Formula One in 2019.

“I think for sure his outlook is a bit different because he knows he’s not going to be in Formula One anymore next year so it looks like he is even more aggressive than he used to be,” says Gasly.

“For me what he did was unfair and we know that if you are alongside you need to give the space of one car and today he didn’t. I know he doesn’t like us because we have the Honda engine but nevertheless. I think it’s not something to talk together but I’m not the kind of guy to make a big story out of things. If I have something to say I’ll tell him face-to-face.”

Asked by RaceFans about the incident, FIA race director Charlie Whiting said it “wasn’t brought to our attention” during the race, but that he would “have a look later” at it.

Josh Holland contributed to this article.

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2018 F1 season