Carlos Sainz believes the overall talent level of Formula 1 drivers is overlooked by the recent criticism of Fernando Alonso.

The two-time world champion returned to the series in 2021 with Alpine, but so far he is very much still in the process of getting back up to speed.

A late surge saw Alonso make his way into the points at the Portuguese GP, but it came at the end of a weekend where he was comfortably the second-best driver at Alpine to Esteban Ocon.

Alonso himself has pinpointed qualifying as a weakness, but Sainz feels that criticism in Formula 1 is always fickle.