Alpine explains why Alonso had a “mediocre result” in Monaco relative to Ocon

Why Esteban Ocon is being better than him is a question that Fernando Alonso has had to face since the World Cup started. Again at the Monaco Grand Prix the Frenchman finished ahead of the Asturian. In addition, the performance of his Alpine was very different from that of the two-time champion, something that the Alpine team wanted to explain. Marcin Budkowski, technical director of the team, has pointed out: “We were not up to date from the first day of training, and that’s mainly due to the tires. The big difference between Esteban and Fernando was that Ocon managed to warm up the tires well at the crucial moment of Q1, Alonso couldn’t, so Ocon advanced, Alonso was eliminated. This meant that Fernando would have a mediocre result. I am convinced that if Alonso had been able to warm up the tires there, he would have been at the same level as Ocon. ”However, although Esteban Ocon saved two points for Alpine thanks to his ninth place, the team’s results were disappointing. “Of course we are not satisfied, but it could have been worse. Unfortunately, our direct rivals made the most of their opportunities. That is painful for the World Cup. To be honest, we ended up having a bad weekend, “admitted Marcin Budkowski. Alpine’s technical director added:” Monaco didn’t say anything about our progress. We were able to show a good upward trend in Portugal and Barcelona, and that is not fading into thin air. We have to learn from the events in Monaco so that we are not caught on the wrong foot in Baku. But hopefully Monaco was only a middle point in the delicate interplay between the track, the chassis, the tires and the external conditions.Alonso’s problems with the tires in Monaco Before Marcin Budkowski, Fernando Alonso, after qualifying seventeenth in Monaco, acknowledged: “It has not been easy to warm up the tires this weekend.” “Grip in general was what we lacked . It was not a balance problem, nor was anything wrong with the car. The grip level was very low in all sessions for all cars. In Portugal we were quite competitive, in Barcelona too and we thought Monaco was going to be a good weekend, but it wasn’t good, probably because the tires, as I said, are one of the main factors in terms of grip level ”, He added. Even so, Fernando Alonso, who finished thirteenth, said he was not worried: “I think it is something exceptional. This circuit is very specific, the set-up for this circuit is very specific, it is very specific how you operate with the car on this type of circuit. Perhaps Singapore is similar in set-up direction, but there is a completely different temperature there. I don’t think we should be too worried. ”Alonso and why Ocon is ahead of him The Spaniard also explained why his teammate is reaping better results than him. “I remember in the first few races, when Carlos joined Renault, he was not as fast as Hulkenberg. And you could say that Daniel was slower than Nico in 2019, and then he was very good in 2020, his second year. At the same time, Esteban was suffering last year with Daniel and now he is well in his second year, so it seems that it is a team that is a little different from the others and needs a greater adaptation, “he said. Still Fernando Alonso has acknowledged that he underestimated his return to Formula 1:“In relation to the driving and the results, maybe I found it a little more difficult than I had anticipated. Not that he assumed the results were going to come automatically. I knew that preparation was needed, hours in the simulator and the tests in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, I expected that, but I am still struggling to make the most of the car’s potential. ”“ I thought that in three or four races I would be at one hundred percent and now I think it will take me eight or nine ”, he added. On the other hand, Fernando Alonso stressed:“ The beginning of the season is not the best possible schedule for a driver who arrives new. I had Imola and Portugal, two circuits that I haven’t driven on for years or never, like in Portimao, and the others drove four months ago and then two urban circuits, so the first six races are very challenging to adapt ”. However, optimistically, he added: “From France I hope a new championship begins for me.”