In a ‘normal’ season, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) would be in a position to fight for the Formula One World Championship with his current form. However, an otherworldly performance from Red Bull and Max Verstappen put off any rebuff by a heavenly driver who led his team to their best-ever historic position at the Monaco Grand Prix.
You can smell the Oviedo player’s 33rd win on the streets of the Monte Carlo circuit in the days leading up to the weekend. And it was closer than it had ever been to reach in recent times. Alonso stayed behind a Verstappen who made no mistake even with the aggressive tire wear.
A day earlier, the Dutchman, double world champion in motorsport’s premier class, had taken a giant step to win Sunday’s race and avoid a rebellion by his main rival outside his team.
And it is that ‘Mad Max’ surprised everyone when Alonso tasted his first ‘pole’ of the season. The Spaniards painted the first two areas of the principality of the Côte d’Azur route purple, but there was a small gap to improve in the third. It was this small margin that Verstappen took advantage of to head the grid in a race on a circuit where overtaking is almost impossible.
Nevertheless, during the 78 laps the drivers had to deal with a changing track in their conditions, Alonso had his options. And it is that strategy plays a more important role in these kinds of appointments, but Aston Martin did not choose well in a moment of chaos that could do it glory.
Decision
When only areas in Monte Carlo began to see rain, the British team, in collusion with the Spaniard, decided to mount medium tires instead of intermediate tyres. Result? An almost immediate new step through ‘box’ to mount tires with more grip in the wet.
The extra time that Oviedo invested in rectifying the initial decision did not cost him second place, but it did leave open a potential battle with Verstappen in the closing stages of the race, when the track began to dry very quickly and nerves began to fray. . stop wearing Put in a present.
It is not the case of the Dutchman who continues to make determined moves for a new championship that Alonso is not going to give up, as he believes that “with these results he will lead another season.”
(Tags to translate) Fernando Alonso
