F1 | Monaco GP | “I think they were on the safe side,” says Alonso about restarts after red flags
After an eventful race day in Monte Carlo, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso talks tyre strategy, red flags and directive’s choice to go on the safer side with decisions to restart the session and how he was ok with this arrangement.
Sunday’s race started later than expected due to some rain in the area, this changed the conditions around the track and with it the strategy that the directive and teams could’ve had if the circuit was dry. After the race, Fernando Alonso was asked about the waiting time and if he thought the beginning of the race was delayed a bit too much.
“I think those showers were a little bit, they were appearing randomly, you know, the radar was not showing them.
“But because we didn't have any wet session this weekend. It was good to be cautious, I think, at the beginning, and do comfortable laps behind the safety car,” said the two-time world champion.
“Also, the second red flag I was I guess he was prepared, Mick’s accident to the wall. So, I think they were on the safe side, which I think is what we asked normally to the right direction to take care of us. So, I'm happy with the decision today to be honest,” stated the Spaniard.
He was also enquired about the speed he drove at after the red flag during the race, about the reason that made him drive slowly.
“Well, first of all, I think we had the tyres, the tyre life to finish the race when it was 33 laps to this sprint race, we had two choices: refit the hard tyres from the beginning of the race or put the medium tyre. We put the medium tyre, but our life estimation was shorter than 33.
“So, we didn't know if we could finish the race. So, I managed to allow the tyres for 15 laps. And then I pushed for the remaining 15 when they told me that Esteban had the penalty.”
Alonso added that it was "not his problem" that Hamilton was stuck behind him, admitting it was "extremely easy" to keep his former teammate behind because of the nature of Monaco.
Said red flag was originated by Mick Schumacher crashing into a wall, causing his VF-22 to split into two. This was an event that caused the other drivers to enquire about him and remember Grosjean’s incident, in which his car was also split into two parts. Alpine’s driver was one of them.
“I remember also seeing the Jeddah accident again, the car is split in two, the gearbox was not in the chassis and again today so yeah, luckily, he's okay. But big, big accident. So hopefully we can learn something from today as well,” expressed Alonso.
