Fernando Alonso: “A bit like rolling a dice”

He was the big absentee from the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix. While McLaren – Honda continued the last year of its collaboration, Fernando Alonso had benefited from another Japanese block in the DW12 lined up under the McLaren-Honda Andretti banner at the Indianapolis 500.

An American escapade which had rather smiled on the Spanish driver, performing well in qualifying (5th), before remaining in the good pack (27 laps led), but being forced to retire.

The double world champion will return to the Monaco event with the firm intention of continuing his points harvest, uninterrupted since the opening of the season in Australia.

Especially since the specifics of the route could allow his McLaren – Renault, which remains behind the big names Mercedes, Ferrari et Red Bull in pure performance, to create a surprise.

« Monaco is one of those circuits that tends to even out the peloton a bit and it's a bit like rolling a dice, recalls Alonso.

As we saw in Spain, even if you qualify well, it doesn't mean you won't be the victim of a potentially game-changing incident. So we have to maximize everything on Saturday, and then fight on Sunday to get as many points as possible. »

Another step forward?

McLaren took advantage of the last Spanish Grand Prix to introduce a revised version of its MCL33, including a brand new nose. “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel for the first time in two years [in Monaco] and see how our car performs, mentions Alonso.

Of course, we know the limits of our package, and a track with reduced speed like this requires completely unique settings compared to any other round on the calendar, but it's up to everyone to adapt to make the most of what is available. »

As such, the last runs carried out after the Catalan round should help McLaren according to Stoffel Vandoorne. “The tests in Spain gave very good information which we will already use in Monaco, analyzes the Belgian.

Of course, it is a very particular type of track with different characteristics than others, but we can always adapt what we have learned and hopefully continue our progress in performance. »

McLaren remains the most successful team in the Principality with fifteen victories, but has not won for ten years, and the victory of Lewis Hamilton. A very long drought for such a team.