Although the race will determine what they can achieve, there are reasons to be much more optimistic about the work of Carlos Sainz what with that of Fernando Alonso.
Things that can only happen in Monaco: divers to the rescue, prostitutes at home, a lost diamond, the podium without a podium …
After some very good free practice, in which the Madrilenian was 2nd, there was a lot of expectation to see if he would be able to repeat in qualifying. From the first moment he was competitive, even with options to reach the front row of the grid or even pole.
It was also aspired to see if Fernando Alonso was going to be able to move to Q2, since the performance Alpine both on Thursday and in the previous free practice on Saturday it was pulling weak. The feeling that he could be much further out of the head than desirable was confirmed in qualifying: he did not go beyond Q1. He could only surpass Nicholas latifi already Nikita mazepin, and will be 17th thanks to Mick schumacher did not contest qualifying due to an accident in the morning.
Q1: Alonso does not measure up
In a session in which the track improved remarkably as the minutes passed, Valtteri Bottas was the first to drop to 1:10 so far this weekend. It narrowly surpassed Charles Leclerc, the local rider, who had been one of the most aggressive in this session.
Sainz came to be first for a few moments, although he ended up outnumbered by just two tenths. The Madrilenian fought from the first moment for the first row of the grid, at least.
The Alonso failure it was consummated in the last moments. The Asturian did not go beyond 17th position, despite the fact that his last lap improved the previous ones, and he was only able to overcome two clearly inferior riders. It will be practically impossible to score.