Alonso suggests group qualifying for Monaco after Q1 bust
Fernando Alonso believes that Formula 1 should rely on group qualifying at Monaco to reduce the hazards of track congestion, an issue that befell the Aston Martin driver in Q1.
Alonso's hopes for a strong showing at the Monaco Grand Prix were dashed by traffic in the first segment of Saturday’s all-important grid-defining session.
Alonso’s final flyer was initially good enough for P13. But the Spaniard progressively fell down the order to 16th as other drivers locked in their times.
The F1 veteran said he encountered traffic at the Nouvelle Chicane and more slower cars at Rascasse, resulting in an estimated five tenths deficit that precluded him from making the Q2 cut.
"Obviously we were not maybe the car to be on pole but I think enough to be P7, P8, but I found myself in the wrong place, wrong moment," Alonso reflected.
"This is Monaco, you know it's difficult to get a clean lap, but I think I lost three tenths out of Turn 11 with a car just in front of me , and then another two tenths in the last corner with three cars that were parked there just to start in the lap.
"No one to blame, I think they cannot vanish in the very last moment out of the last corner, but yeah, a little bit unlucky today.”
The 42-year-old reckoned that a group qualifying format, with each group making up a single file of Sunday’s grid, would go a long way towards alleviating unlucky traffic setbacks.
Such a system is already used in Formula 2 and Formula 3.
"I think that will be great," he said. "I think Monaco is so exciting and so thrilling that it will be nice to see everyone's lap live, because we miss a lot of great moments. But yeah, it's the way it is.
"You can get lucky or unlucky. I think last year I got lucky and I made some progress in Q1, Q2 and then in Q3 you are P2 and maybe some of the big contenders that were out of Q1 or out of Q2.
"This time it was for us the bad side of it and Checo as well. I think he's P18. This is Monaco. You need to find your luck as well and we didn't do today."
Addressing his prospects for race day, Alonso said that his priority from the outset will be to steer clear of trouble.
"[On Sunday, the aim is to] not crash, try to keep the car in one piece,” he said. “Obviously, in this part of the year, we try to bring as many upgrades as possible. So the stock parts are not great.
“We just need to try to finish the race and get to Canada a little bit more prepared.
"I think it's impossible [to pit early]. I did in lap seven in Imola and in lap eight half of the grid stopped. This is the way it is."
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