• Chronicle Alonso touches the miracle in the classification of Monaco and will have options of victory

"I've always relied on my riding, sometimes even too much. I know there are a lot of new fans in Formula 1 who have been hooked on Netflix's 'Drive to Survive'. Those people have only seen me fighting for points or even worse, retreating with smoke coming out of the back of my car. I understand that they are surprised by my season, but I have always believed."

That's it. Who is Fernando Alonso? It is that driver who with 41 years in his hands is able to push against his own limits Max Verstappen, the champion of this generation, a talent in a state of grace. "I always believed that I was still fast," the Spaniard claimed on Saturday after placing second on the grid in Monaco only behind the same Verstappen, who needed a miracle to snatch pole. Afterwards, he acted accordingly: there was no party or anything like that.

In the Aston Martin garage, Alonso's second place had caused some euphoria, the celebration of his mechanics, but as soon as the driver appeared everyone returned to work. Concentration. Silence. The message? A second place in qualifying, even one just eight hundredths behind Verstappen, was never the goal. The goal is to win this Sunday the race in the streets of Monte Carlo (15.00 hours, DAZN) and it is not impossible. "I have a chance," Alonso acknowledged, although he soon lowered expectations.

It is the strategy that drags this year from the first race in Bahrain: the Aston Martin shines, it is a car to enjoy, but the pressure of a victory can be exaggerated for a team that comes from where it comes from. Caution is the only way. "I'm not thinking about passing Max at the first corner and I don't think I can overtake him in the race. My chance is to wait for his mistake. That he suffers a mechanical failure, that he makes a mistake of strategy, that he makes a mistake ... The races in Monaco seem boring, they seem easy, but it's difficult to keep the car in one piece for so many laps," said Alonso, a master in the art of making statements.

Alonso's chances

Because, even if he watered down the wine in front of the microphones, even if he aborted the party among his own, the two-time Formula 1 champion knows that this time he can challenge Verstappen on the asphalt. For the first time this year. Maybe for the last time this year. Due to the narrowness and slowness of the Monegasque circuit, overtaking is very difficult, but it is also impossible for the Red Bull to run at its maximum and, without that power difference, anything can happen.

In qualifying, in fact, Alonso always overtook Verstappen in the first two sectors of the track and only lost in the last, when more can be accelerated. The Spaniard can consider an attack on the first lap, an overtaking in the pits, a race waiting for the degradation of the last laps ... Not to mention the appearance of red flags or even rain. The forecasts warn that it could rain this Sunday in the Principality at the time of the race, although this Saturday from the teams warned that this is not certain.

"I'm honestly not interested in rain. I want a dry race and that there are no incidents, because history here in Monaco says that starting from the front row there are many options to finish on the podium and that would be a great result," proclaimed Alonso, who at that time was not playing with his words.

Threats to Spanish

In none of the previous five races this season did the Spaniard start with so many chances of finishing in the top three. In Jeddah and Miami he already started from second place, but on both occasions he was threatened; Not this Sunday. At the circuit of Saudi Arabia, Verstappen started ninth and on the American track, fifteenth, both times with room to recover. This time Checo Pérez starts twentieth because of an accident in Q1 and it would be a feat if in the narrow streets of Monte Carlo he reaches the podium, even if he finishes in the top five.

In fact, Alonso's main danger in his assault on Verstappen was Charles Leclerc and ultimately he won't be. In his case, the Monegasque set the third fastest time in the classification, but hours later, already at night in the Principality, he was sanctioned for hindering the return launched by some opponents and will start sixth. In his place, on the second row, will be Esteban Ocon, Saturday's surprise, and a Carlos Sainz harmed by traffic in qualifying. Both will try, but neither has the pace of the two main contenders. "I have a chance," Alonso admitted. Go if you have it.

  • Fernando Alonso

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