What Happened to the Isolated Alpine of Fernando Alonso Amid Monaco GP Chaos?

With a few seconds remaining on the board and the cars completing their final laps, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez crashed out. And while Leclerc’s pole never looked in doubt, the Monegasque was thrilled to be on pole. Meanwhile, it was overlooked a bit, but Alpine’s Fernando Alonso crashed out in Mirabeau.

Since the crash was not televised, everyone was left in confusion about what had happened. A YouTube video now gives an idea of what actually happened.

In a post-qualifying interview, Alonso said, “Outlap was not ideal and so the brakes were cold already in Turn 1,” he said. “So in turn 3 and turn 4 I was thinking if you keep pushing or not because I didn’t feel the car right or preparation right. And then I was looking at the steering and then I braked too late for Turn 5.”

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It also looks like Alonso tries to save his car by trying to take to the escape road. But again, it seems like it was too late for the Spaniard to do so. Fernando Alonso took the blame for the incident and feels like there was more potential in the car.

As one user put it, “Those wheels ain’t pointing in the same direction.”

Regardless of the crash, Fernando Alonso has had a cracker of a weekend in Monaco. After Q3, he qualified in P7, three places ahead of his teammate, Esteban Ocon. Even during the practice session, the two-time world champion had something to show in his timings. From Friday and now, the Alpines have looked competitive from the outset. 

Will Fernando Alonso return with Alpine to Monaco in 2023?

Fernando Alonso has won in Monaco before, he has had multiple podiums here and now has qualified P7 for the 2022 Monaco GP. Hence, it only makes sense that he stays in F1 around longer. However, there has been some speculation about who gets the seat for 2023. Former F1 driver, Pedro de la Rosa thinks that Alpine dropping Fernando will be “unbelievable”. 

In an interview with DAZN, Renault CEO, Luca De Meo has admitted that it is a challenge to find a seat for both Fernando Alonso and youngster Oscar Piastri. “We combined the experience of Alonso with the youth of Ocon and now Piastri enters,” said de Meo. “It is a challenge to find a position for the three of them.”

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“The solution will not be 100 percent pleasant for all three of them, but we believe that we have to give each one of them an opportunity. We have to protect the three drivers, and also the one that they say is a super-talent in Piastri.”

The CEO concluded that despite the age difference between the two drivers (20 years to be exact), Alpine can’t treat Fernando like just another Alpine employee. It will be interesting to see if Fernando will be back in 2023 for another Monaco Grand Prix.