Despite Teasing a Title Fight, Fernando Alonso Admits Defeat With His “Best Possible Option” Against Max Verstappen

Remember the old-school Fernando Alonso who would hustle his car and potentially overdrive to obtain a result beyond his capacity? Well, the Aston Martin fans were hoping for a similar miracle around Monaco. However, the 41-year-old didn’t even come close to challenging Verstappen despite teasing the Red Bulls for a possible title fight come the end of the season. What did Fernando Alonso do in Monaco?

Fernando Alonso finished P2 after starting from the same position at the Monaco GP. After an eventful race, which could’ve been won by Alonso, the Spaniard suggested that the title fight is far from over. He explained how during his Ferrari days in 2010 he arrived as the leader of the championship to the final race despite not being the fastest car and also gave an example of 2012 when it all came down to the wire.

Nevertheless, despite coming close to winning the race, the double pitstop and the wrong strategy call during the rainy conditions cost Alonso the chance at his 33rd win. Fernando, however, doesn’t look or sound too gutted about not winning. He suggests that he’s in a good mood and that he and his AMR23 had no chance against the superior Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was faster than him the whole race with P2 being the realistic best possible result.

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According to F1 Maximaal.com, Fernando Alonso said, “I’m happy. We had no chance (to win, ed.). Max was of course faster than we were, from start to finish. We have to accept that, so second place was the best possible position for us.” [Translated Via Google]

Fernando Alonso’s result, despite his 2-plus decades of experience, explained how it was a very difficult race to manage with the ever-changing conditions.

Fernando Alonso suggested that the 2023 Monaco GP was a hard race

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With rain only hitting some parts of the track, the strategist of the teams had a nightmare. Fernando Alonso pitted for dry tires on a track that got fully wet the next lap. The Spaniard explains how it was not an easy race to win with the car slipping and sliding all over the place with slicks on a surface that was getting greasy. Alonso, however, did not lose a position despite the strategy blunder but still considers the race to be a hard one.

According to F1maximaal.com, Fernando Alonso said, “The race wasn’t easy to run, especially when it started raining. We doubted whether we should change for intermediates or for dry weather tires. In the end we had to make a double pit stop, which was confusing. Fortunately, we didn’t lose a position with it, but it wasn’t an easy afternoon.” [Translated Via Google]