While Fernando Alonso finishes 2nd, Lance Stroll has a miserable run in Monaco

BET À DAY

Fernando Alonso was true to form by finishing second to winner Max Verstappen in 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, demonstrated, once again, 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 this approach would favor us for a long stint at the start of the event. But Max [who started the race on medium tyres] managed his race well and, unless there was 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,” Alonso said. – 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 takes his 39th F1 victory by 28 seconds ahead of his closest rival.

On lap 54 of 78, Alonso made his first stop to change his tires . Despite a wet road surface, his team then chose to fit his single-seater with “slick” rubber (without grooves), but it was the wrong decision.

From the next 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. Happy third, Frenchman Esteban Ocon, was nine seconds behind Alonso when the checkered flag was waved.

Alonso has claimed 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. Starting in 14th place on the starting grid, after being rough the day before in qualifying, Lance Stroll was limited to an extra role on Sunday in Monaco.

From the initial lap, the Montrealer was involved in a clash with Alex Albon (Williams), without gravity however. Thereafter, he will never be able to improve his lot. For more than twenty laps, he remained stuck behind Kevin Magnussen (Haas) on a track where overtaking is practically impossible.

He was forced to retire about twenty laps before the curtain 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 did not help. »