Alpine's Fernando Alonso may be one of the most experienced drivers on the grid but, without the benefit of driving in Monte Carlo since 2018, has struggled to adapt to the tight street circuit this weekend. Alonso was knocked out in Q1, joining rookies like Haas' Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, and AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda on the sidelines. The 2006 and 2007 Monaco GP winner explained that the entire weekend has been a challenge so far, as he has struggled to unlock the pace of the A521. "Obviously in Monaco, you will love to start at the front, but we're struggling a little bit with the pace this weekend, unfortunately," Alonso told select members of the media, including RacingNews365.com. "We will face a tough race at the back and [it's] difficult to invent anything on the strategy or anything. So, yeah. Ready for a long day tomorrow." Alonso explained that balance wasn't the issue, but he simply couldn't generate the grip he needed to go any quicker, and said the unusual performances from some teams suggests that the ability to warm up tyres quickly is shaking up the pecking order. "Overall grip, in general, was the thing we missed. It was not a problem on the balance or a problem of anything wrong on the car," he explained. "It was just the level of grip was very low in all the sessions for both cars. "In Portugal, we were quite competitive, in Barcelona as well. And we thought that Monaco was a good weekend. But yeah, it was not good. Probably the tyres, as I said, are one of the biggest factors in terms of level of grip or switching on the tyres. And that can make that big difference. "So some teams, they were much more competitive here than any other race before. Some of the teams, they were very uncompetitive here compared to the previous weekends..like Alpine. So we need to analyse further. But, yeah, we need to do better next time."
Most read
