Fernando Alonso says Alpine does not understand the tyre temperature struggle that he blamed for his Q1 exit in Monaco Grand Prix qualifying.
The 2006 and ’07 Monaco winner’s 17th place on the grid for Alpine is one of his worst-ever Formula 1 starting positions in Monte Carlo.
His 18th place as a rookie with Minardi in 2001 and starting last in 2010 after a practice crash are his only lower Monaco grid spots.
“It was not an easy weekend for sure,” Alonso said when asked by The Race about the poor qualifying performance.
“I think we are missing a little bit on overall grip or tyre preparation or something because we were expecting a lot from Monaco.
“After Portugal and Spain the car was getting better and better so we thought Monaco could be a good opportunity and we didn’t deliver.
“The temperature on the tyre was not an easy topic this weekend. We need to understand why. Nothing we can do now.
“It’s race day tomorrow, starting at the back in Monaco is not ideal. But let’s hope for a crazy race.”
Asked if he had a sense of whether the tyre temperature issue was linked to the car’s characteristics or driving style, Alonso replied: “I don’t know. We’re still investigating it a little bit.”
Alonso had been faster than team-mate Esteban Ocon in all three practice sessions but was four tenths of a second adrift in Q1.
Ocon ultimately went on to qualify 11th.
“The first free practice I was in front of him, so I think generally the weekend has been better than normal for me compared to the first races,” said Alonso of the intra-team battle.
“But in qualifying a couple of tenths can make a difference and he did better in qualifying.
“But I think we were very close this weekend.”
