Half a smile from Alonso, second on the grid at the Monaco GP behind Verstappen. There are very good points at stake in a dry race, although the forecast calls for rain in the morning. AS asks you, do you see yourself closer than ever, in the last ten years, to a victory? Will he risk more than usual? On the contrary: “I think I’ve already risked enough in qualifying… now I’ll try to finish the race, see the checkered flag and score as many points as possible. If it’s a normal race in Monaco we should be on the podium, securing these positions. If there’s an opportunity, a mechanical breakdown for Max, a bad pit-stop, a lucky strategy… we’ll take it”. “But it’s not like we can risk more or less to have a chance to win. You can’t get ahead. It’s a matter of avoiding a mistake, which sounds like a boring race in Monaco even though it sounds easy from the outside. But it is extremely difficult to keep the car in good shape for 78 laps.” explains the Asturian to this medium.
At the FIA press conference, he explains another advantage of fighting for pole positions again in F1: “It’s great. I always had confidence in my riding. Confidence to spare, maybe too much, but it’s in my DNA. It is a demonstration for people from outside. For the new fans who have been coming since 2014, with ‘Drive to survive’ (the Netflix series) and that they have only seen me fighting to get into Q3, or retiring in the races with smoke in the back of the car. Now you will be surprised to see me fighting in front. For me it’s ok, I am enjoying it, but it is more fun that the new fans can see that we are fast”.
“Max has been less consistent in the starts”
On the qualifying lap, and the chances of victory: “When they told me I was first and only Tsunoda and Max were missing, I knew I could finish second. I was close to pole position, I’m happy, we had concerns with our performance on Saturdays, because we’re very good at degradation on Sundays, but it’s difficult to warm up the tire on urban circuits for the qualifying lap. And we started in the front row at the Monaco GP. All the qualifying in Monaco is exciting, the adrenaline is high. Maybe something else with these cars, Because visibility is compromised with the wheels, there are curves that we don’t see like in the past, like the eighth or the last one. It’s a gamble, you don’t see the barrier and that adds some stress. But I was happy, one of my best laps in Monaco. To win we need help from Max, but it cannot be guaranteed that the top three cars will finish the race.”
For the race, he rules out the start and prefers not to talk about rain: “The starts have been good and Max has been somewhat more inconsistent in that section. But the distance to turn one is quite short and narrow, regardless of your output performance. It is not in my head that it is that opportunity or none. The rain… won’t help. I prefer a dry race because we have a better chance of securing good points. The rain only helps those who are out of position and we are in position”. It’s what drives a good car. You no longer need to look at the Monaco sky to dream big.
