The Spaniard will start 21st after suffering with an AMR26 that still gives no answers. The problem is a mix of engine, gearbox and aerodynamics: "We need to find two or three seconds" he stated.
Fernando Alonso lived another forgettable day in Monaco Grand Prix qualifying, the Aston Martin driver was stuck in Q1 and will occupy twenty first position on the starting grid after a session in which he never had options to fight for a decent place: "We expected to go faster or we had some hope because Monaco is a different circuit, but from free practice we saw that we are slow here too" declared the two time Spanish champion at the end of the session.
Expectations were low but Alonso trusted that the characteristics of the urban track could level the playing field, reality was stubborn and the AMR26 once again showed its deficiencies on a circuit where engine power takes a back seat and confidence in the chassis is everything: "It's repetitive, annoying, every weekend we say that we won't have upgrades until after the summer and we'll be at the back of the grid" lamented the Asturian driver.
Alonso tried three fast laps to improve his time and little by little got closer to sixteenth position, but he never had real options to get into Q2.
The question that arises is, what is the problem? It is a combination of multiple factors affecting the car's performance in every area: "The upshifts or downshifts are difficult, the front end doesn't bite and in Monaco you need that to drive precisely and get close to the walls, so we lacked confidence in the car" explained the Spaniard.
The fact that Adrian Newey was present in the Monaco paddock did not change the situation, the aerodynamics genius cannot work miracles with a car that has dragged structural problems since its conception. Aston Martin brought some new parts to Monaco, but the upgrades were not enough to make the quality leap the team needs: "There are no upgrades, we lacked confidence in the car" stated Alonso.
Looking ahead to Sunday's race, the outlook is bleak, on a circuit where overtaking is practically impossible, starting from the back of the grid condemns any driver to an anonymous afternoon: "We'll try to go as fast as possible, I think I gave a lap, we try to push each other between the two Aston Martins but there are no other rivals apart from that" admitted Alonso, who is already thinking about the upgrades the team promises after the summer break.
"We need to find two or three seconds that are a mix of engine, gearbox, interaction of recovery in the corners and energy use on the straights, aerodynamic packages, car philosophy, there are tenths everywhere" he concluded.
