Formula 1 is ready to return to the track for the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix. Here are Fernando Alonso’s expectations for the eighth round of the season, which he defined as the most special on the calendar, even the race is boring
May 24, 2024
Lhe Italian parenthesis of the Imola race is now behind us and the Formula 1 is already ready to return to the track this weekend with the eighth round of the season, the most glamorous of the entire calendar, the Monaco Grand Prix 2024. The narrow streets of Monte Carlo are always the venue for a great show every year, where the talent of the driver comes to the fore because of the courage to race at high speeds, even if lower than in other races, with the walls at close range. A perfect challenge for a veteran like Fernando Alonsowho can’t wait to get on track to definitively put an end to the unfortunate Italian weekend, which ended in last position.
LAston Martin’s Asturian is ready for the start of one of the most anticipated events of the Circus. For the drivers, the activity on the track is important, but the outline of what happens in Monaco; Prominent personalities, famous actresses and actors, athletes and singers are now at home in the Principality, especially for such a glamorous event as the Grand Prix. “In Monte Carlo the qualifying is different and it is special” admitted Fernando Alonso to the microphones of AutoMoto.it, present on the track with our Diletta Colombo. “It’s one of the best moments of the seasonbut in reality the whole weekend is special. The only bad day is Sunday, because there’s not much you can do and it could be really boring, because you just have to take the car home. But already in free practice everything becomes interesting, because the circuit evolves and you have to guess the grip that will gradually be available and the changes to be made with the setup. Qualifying is the only one of the season in which you go at speeds in the corners that you have never gone before during the rest of the weekend and the adrenaline is very high. There are all the sponsors, all the VIPs; until Sunday is the best weekend of the year.”
F1. Monaco GP Fernando Alonso
“Racing in Monte Carlo when you don’t have a competitive car is not the best. There is no doubt that last year we had more hopes, while this year we have had ups and downs. The previous car was stronger in corners and at low speed, while now it isn’t, but in any case there could be some events in the calendar in our favor. We finished third in qualifying in China a month ago. If we manage to repeat that result this Saturday there could be greater hopes of doing well on Sunday, but we will have to see what the race pace and tire degradation are. We are still optimistic that we can have a good weekend and I have a good feeling”.
F1. Monaco GP Fernando Alonso
“I think Lance and I have the same feelings about the car. There are still some things to improve, such as the set up, and in fact we also tested a bit at Imola on my car on Sunday. Basically I think we need to continue working on the balance because we have some downforce and the updates need to be tested on the track. We still can’t use it at its best in the qualifying laps so we aren’t completely perfect in the corners. We are trying to understand and also have some development ideas that will help us solve these problems. We are not groping in the dark, blindly, but at the same time the nature of these machines does not meet us. The simulator forgives you for things that the track doesn’t. When you put the theoretical numbers in you tend to do better. The simulator is a great thing, it’s essential for engineers and it’s very useful for learning a track or something, but it’s still not the real car. We will work hard in free practice to understand all the details of the set-up to be used.”
