28/05/2023
NEWS STORY
Fernando Alonso: "I'm really happy with this result. The race was not easy - and the rain made it difficult for everybody, and very risky strategically.
"I don't think the extra stop [first Mediums, then Intermediates] affected the result. It's always hard to read the race fully from the cockpit, but on the lap I stopped, the track was completely dry apart from Turns Seven and Eight - so why fit Inters, especially when it felt like a small shower and we had plenty of margin behind us? So it was the right decision, and extra safe: but a minute and a half later it was a completely different situation! There was no chance to win today - wet or dry, but we raced aggressively and tried to win it. We were hoping Max [Verstappen] would suffer greater degradation on the Mediums, but he did 50 laps at an amazing pace. But we're getting closer - let's not forget that. Now to Spain!"
Lance Stroll: "In all honesty, this wasn't a race to remember. The first lap was pretty eventful - a lot of crashing; a lot of carbon-fibre flying everywhere! Those clashes left the car with a fair amount of damage but I was still able to have a go at some of the cars in front. And I pulled off a couple of passes, which was fun. But I was struggling a little to get the car slowed down even before the rain; then when it started raining the brake issues meant I just couldn't stop the car. I think I hit the wall about five times out there, but it just wasn't my day. Congratulations to Fernando for an excellent result - I'll be aiming for a points finish at Barcelona next weekend. I'm already looking forward to Spain."
Mike Krack, Team Principal: "Starting from the front row and finishing second with Fernando in the Monaco Grand Prix is a tremendous result for the whole team - and a significant marker for how far we've travelled together. This was a difficult race to manage: we fitted Fernando with the Hard compound, hoping to use the strategy to jump Max later in the race. Then the rain came! Initially, the downpour wasn't too heavy, and we fitted Mediums because an old, worn Hard tyre is incredibly difficult to manage on a wet track. The rain immediately increased, and switching to Intermediates was the logical choice just a lap later. That made no difference to the result - we wouldn't have caught Max anyway. Fernando drove magnificently in treacherous conditions to equal AMF1 Team's best-ever result - bravo. Lance struggled with damage after a couple of hits on lap one, but he drove with a good amount of verve, overtook a couple of cars and was battling hard. That was great to see. He correctly judged the switch to Inters but was managing the brakes in the wet and lost his front wing after a tangle with the barriers. Starting 14th, it was always going to be a tricky race for Lance - but he kept his head up throughout. Now we go to Spain - with the aim of getting both cars in the points once again."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Monaco here.