He did not disappoint the classification of the Monaco GP. Fernando Alonso got out of the car sweating, absolutely exhausted after a session in which he knew he had to give the ‘do’ of his chest so that the work of his mechanics and engineers to give him a car at the height of Red Bull himself corresponded . And Alonso, before demanding, gives. And he did not disappoint.
Only Max Verstappen, the only driver who has achieved practically no blemish so far this season, has been able to avoid the dream of ’23’, the pole that Alonso has not achieved since 2012, as a prelude to the ’33’ that will end up falling by its own weight.
This classification was critical for everyone. It is no coincidence that (with the exception of Olivier Panis in 1996) nobody has won in recent decades starting from further back than fifth position. If so, both Verstappen, Alonso, Leclerc, Ocon (yes, Ocon with the Alpine) and Carlos Sainz start with options to win.
Q1: Pérez self-discards
In Q1 there was one less great rival for Fernando Alonso and company. The Mexican Sergio Pérez was ruled out due to an absurd accident, when he entered completely past the variant after the church of Santa Devota, the most famous temple in Formula 1. The Red Bull crashed violently as soon as Q1 began, something which is obviously what should never happen at a circuit like Monaco.
Another of the favorites who suffered too much to pass was Carlos Sainz. The man from Madrid failed in his first two good lap attempts and, as the track improved, the other cars dropped more. He did not fit the good one until after the time was up he achieved a sufficient time to meet the minimum of passing to Q2. Ferrari’s work this weekend required, at least, getting their two cars to Q3.
Q2: Everything within the script
In Q2 there were no big surprises. If anything, although this is no longer a surprise, seeing Lance Stroll staying out of the final batch. The Canadian is not up to what Alonso is curdling this year, and he can thank the Asturian a lot for not humiliating him too much yet. The quality of one and the other are light years away, and both are aware of it. As long as one and the other accept their role, everything will be smiles. The outstanding performance of this round was, if anything, that of a Lewis Hamilton who waited too long and almost was left out. Although he went on to Q3, the seven-time champion (like George Russell) fell far short of the final battle for pole position. The idea of the new Mercedes with pontoons came out regular, for now, and confirms suspicions: in the German squad they regret not having backed down before.
Q3: Alonso sharpens his teeth… but Verstappen bites
The illusion of seeing Fernando Alonso in front of a starting grid was very present in the paddock. No one hides his fondness for the Asturian, who has become a kind of new hero for the fans for having endured years in inferior cars, with a retirement in between, but he has met a Max Verstappen at the best possible moment. With a Red Bull almost impossible to catch, the Dutch double champion is in such a sweet moment that Alonso needs to do his best to take the place from him.
Verstappen also had to sweat. Alonso was just a few moments behind, a small mistake by the Dutchman would have given him his first pole position. The Spaniard took a lap that was almost impossible to improve, but Verstappen had a brilliant third sector, one of those that become the meat of YouTube ‘highlights’ to maintain the ‘status quo’ on the grid.
Just because Alonso doesn’t come out first doesn’t mean he’s not going to fight to win. He knows that this election Sunday in Spain he can become the big headline of the day outside of politics. «When they told me that I was first and Max was finishing the lap, I knew that the possibility of being second was there. I feel like pole was very close and we have to be happy because we came here with some concerns about our performance on Saturdays, we were missing that temperature in the tires and warming them up for that Q3 and we started on the front row in Monaco, so job done », he analyzed at the end.
The work is not complete yet, but Alonso feels strong.
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