Fernando Alonso was true to form as he finished second to winner Max Verstappen at Sunday’s Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.
He had started from the same position when the red lights went out in the streets of Monte-Carlo.
The veteran Spanish driver, despite a bad strategy that could have cost him a place on the podium, once again demonstrated that the Aston Martin team made the right choice by recruiting him during the off-season.
“We took the gamble of starting on hard tyres, hoping that the approach would favor us for a long stint at the start of the event. But Max [qui a amorcé la course en pneus médiums] managed his race well and, barring a fault, we knew he was untouchable. After giving up the idea of surprising him at the first corner, my plan was to preserve my second place,” said Alonso.
With about twenty laps to go, the rain could have come to spoil the party for Verstappen, but, despite small errors and two light touches with the wall, he was not really worried.
Despite the rain
“We thought we had a chance to catch him in the rain, added Alonso, but in vain. He was too strong, no matter the conditions.
Verstappen wins his 39e victory in F1 by beating his nearest rival by 28 seconds.
At 54e of the 78 laps, Alonso made his first stop to change his tyres. Despite a soggy road, his team then chose to put rubber on his single-seater.slicks(without grooves), but it will be the wrong decision.
From the following lap, the Spaniard had no other choice but to enter again, this time opting for intermediate tyres. Fortunately for him, this unexpected stop will not deprive him of second place until the finish. Lucky third, the French Esteban Ocon, showed up nine seconds behind Alonso when the checkered flag was waved.
Alonso reaches a fifth podium in six starts this year. The last time he climbed on the second step was at the Hungarian Grand Prix in … 2014.
A role of figuration
The least we can say is that Alonso made his teammate look bad. Gone in 14e place on the starting grid, after having been rough the day before in qualifying, Lance Stroll was limited to a role of figuration Sunday in Monaco.
From the initial lap, the Montrealer was involved in a collision with Alex Albon (Williams), but without gravity. Thereafter, he will never be able to improve his lot. For more than twenty laps, he got stuck behind Kevin Magnussen (Haas) on a track where overtaking is practically impossible.
He will be forced to retire about twenty laps before the curtain goes down.
“Honestly, it’s a race to forget. In fact, I had a shitty weekend where nothing worked out. In the end, I could no longer control my car, because I had no brakes. The rain could have helped me, but on the contrary, it didn’t help.