Alonso hoping for rare Red Bull mistake to defeat Verstappen

Fernando Alonso says he is hoping for a rare Red Bull Formula 1 mistake to help him pass Max Verstappen in the Monaco Grand Prix.

The World Champion pulled out a stunning final sector in qualifying to pip Alonso by just 0.084s and grab the all-important Monte Carlo pole position..

Overtaking is notoriously difficult in the principality with the race usually decided by qualifying and the run to Turn 1, with Alonso hoping for Red Bull to slip up so he can capitalise and take a first win in over 10 years.

Alonso's hope for Red Bull mistake

"We have to execute the race calmly, try to put everything in place and have a good strategy, a good start, and no mistakes from anybody on the team or from myself," he explained to Sky Sports F1.

"To win the race, we will need some help from Max, maybe a lucky Safety Car or a bad pitstop from Red Bull. I know that they are the best ones on the pitstops, but maybe for one race they can have a mistake and those kind of things will give us an opportunity in a normal race.

"It is going to be very difficult."

'Enough risk' for Alonso

Alonso also appeared to not want to take any undue risk in his hunt for that elusive 33rd Grand Prix victory, saying he would just try to finish the race.

"I [risked] enough [in Qualifying so in the race] we will try to finish the race to see the chequered flag, try to take the maximum points," he later told media, including RacingNews365.

"If there is a normal Monaco race, we should be on the podium, more or less securing the positions that we [currently have].

"As I said, if there is an opportunity or mechanical failure from Max or a bad pit stop or lucky strategy or whatever, we will take it. But if not, there is not [anything] coming from our side that we risk more or less and then we will have a chance to win.

"There is no way you will overtake anyone, so it's just avoiding a mistake, which sounds a boring race on Sundays in Monaco and from the outside looks easy, but it is still extremely difficult to keep the car in good shape and on those streets for 78 laps."