Fernando Alonso enjoyed his best result of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season so far thanks to a seventh place in the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, but his day was not without its difficulties.
The BWT Alpine F1 Team driver had tricky choices to make when it came to strategy, with the decision to go straight from the full wet Pirelli tyre to the slicks meaning they were able to jump several places ahead of those who made an additional stop for intermediates.
Alonso was also forced to hold off the challenge of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s Lewis Hamilton in the final stint as he managed the life of his medium compound tyre, which the team opted to use for the final stint after the red flag for Mick Schumacher’s crash.
“It was a very difficult race today with the conditions, so we can be pleased with a seventh-place finish and more points added to the championship,” said Alonso. “It was a tricky race to manage with difficult choices on strategy at times, but we did everything well as a team and it was all well managed.
“At the wheel, it was not easy, and I had to be careful at times not to make any mistake to make sure we brought the car home in the points. On the dry stints, because of what we learned on Friday, we had to be careful on the tyres, especially for me after the second-red flag.
“We held on to seventh comfortably, so I’m pretty pleased with today’s job.”
“Inside the car it felt like a racing incident with Lewis” – Esteban Ocon
Team-mate Esteban Ocon finished ninth on the road in Monaco, but a five-second penalty for a collision with Hamilton relegated him out of the points to twelfth place.
However, the Frenchman does not believe the contact with the Mercedes driver warranted a penalty, feeling any overtaking attempt around the tight confines of the principality always have a high risk of contact.
Ocon believes the team deserved to see both cars score points on Sunday after a lot of hard work to find performance gains over the weekend, but he will be looking to make amends next time out in Azerbaijan.
“Today’s result is tough to swallow, and I’m frustrated that we leave Monaco without scoring points,” said Ocon. “Inside the car it felt like a racing incident with Lewis [Hamilton], especially at a track like Monaco where any overtake attempt is likely to involve some contact.
“The team has worked so hard all weekend, especially in finding the gains between Friday and Saturday, and we now leave without scoring deserved double points.
“We’ll have to move forward and I’m looking to put it right in Baku where we race next.”
