Alonso dismisses claims that extra pitstop cost him victory

Fernando Alonso finished the Monaco Grand Prix in 2nd place, his best ever result this season after a string of 4 3rd places in the opening 5 rounds.

However, many believed that the Spaniard had a real shot at victory just at the crossover point between dry and wet tires. Alonso dived into the pits before Max Verstappen and to the surprise of everyone he put on another set of dries, despite the track being significantly damp at that point and several drivers pitting for the intermediates.

It proved to be the wrong decision as the 41-year-old was called back to the pits just a lap later for the wet compound.

Speaking of these events, however, the Aston Martin driver dismissed all claims that this could have been a turning point, stating that Verstappen was just too quick on the day.

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“It was difficult,” said Alonso

“We opted to start on the hard tyres, so we gave up the possibility into Turn 1, due to the short run.”

“We thought to play a long game with the strategy, but Max drove super well on the medium tyres, extending that first stint – so we didn’t have any chance. Then at the end the rain put things a little bit complicated out there, it was not easy to drive around.”