Wrong tyre call for Alonso leaves Verstappen unchallenged in wet Monaco GP win

F1

Rain brought unpredictability to the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix but Max Verstappen skated through, leading from lights to flag as Fernando Alonso's challenge fell away with a wrong tyre call

Max Verstappen lifts Monaco GP trophy

Red Bull via Getty Images

Author

Dominic Tobin

For more than 50 laps, the Monaco Grand Prix delivered its trademark procession, with Max Verstappen in control and in the lead.

And then the rain came. It was the moment that Fernando Alonso had been waiting for: a dose of unpredictability to overturn the competitive order and sneak ahead of the Red Bull, so Aston Martin decided to roll the dice and fit a new set of slick tyres as the rain fell harder.

It was an optimistic gamble. And it was the wrong call. A lap later, Alonso pitted again for intermediates — at the same time as Verstappen, and the cars emerged around 2sec apart: little more than the time Alonso lost in his first stop.

It could have been a battle of the ages in the rain, in conditions where passing is possible, but Verstappen was left to drive to the flag unchallenged.

“The track, on that lap we stop, was completely dry apart of Turns 7 and 8,” said Alonso. “So I stopped for dries: the weather forecast was [for a] small shower. But that minute-and-a-half that it took it took to go through Turns 5-6-7 and 8 again, it changed completely so that lap on the dry tires was very wet.”

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The first 50 laps of the race were largely a long wait to see whether the rain arrived, waiting to pit to avoid an extra stop for wet tyres.

“We really had to stay out almost double the amount of laps that we would have liked on the mediums,” said Verstappen, who had Alonso on more durable hard tyres behind him.

The rain was race-changing, creeping up on the drivers gradually, spit by spit until suddenly, they found themselves slithering on the wet asphalt.

The forecasts were varied: one team predicting rain in 20 laps, another in 40, and some not at all. But suddenly, at around lap 50, drivers started reporting spots of rain. Those soon changed to drizzle, and suddenly cars were sliding towards Mirabeau.

The potential was there for a perfectly-timed switch to intermediates to catapult a driver up the standings, but who? Valtteri Bottas and a combative Lance Stroll were first to change on lap 53 And it wasn’t long until they were matching the times of the slick-tyred frontrunners.

Fernando Alonso drives on wet 2023 Monaco GP circuit

In the pits at the right time – but with the wrong tyre, Alonso had ato make an extra stop for intermediates

DPPI

But not all of the track was wet, as Alonso radioed his team. “Box this lap and it will be for mediums,” he was told, as all around him were pitting for intermediates.

One outlap was all it took to convince him to come in: one lap too many for anyone still on slicks, as Carlos Sainz slid off at Mirabeau, losing position to his team-mate, and critical time to the now intermediate-shod Mercedes.

Verstappen was struggling too, hitting the wall at Portier, just ahead of the tunnel.

Thanks to Aston Martin’s mis-step, he had plenty of time to make his stop, ahead of Alonso and the double-stacking Ferraris.

“Had Fernanado picked the inter [first], it would have been much tighter,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports.

But despite the 22sec lead, Verstappen was still pushing in the slippery conditions, having to catch the car more than once as it slid perilously close to the barriers. “My engineer was asking me [why I didn’t slow down],” said Verstappen. “It’s better to be in a rhythm than slow down and be out of your zone.”

Carlos Sainz with broken front wing in 2023 Monaco GP

Sainz damaged his front wing early in the race in a botched overtake attempt on Ocon

Andrej Isakovic/AFP via Getty Images

Sitting comfortably in third was Esteban Ocon, who had remained where he started, following a stellar qualifying performance; resisted changing tyres before the rain arrived; and stopped at just the right moment.

This wasn’t a moment to relax though, as conditions remained treacherous. George Russell, in fourth ran down the escape road at Mirabeau, reversed back out and was hit by Sergio Perez, which earned him a five-second penalty.

For Perez, it was just the latest incident in a contact-filled race where he clashed wheels with Lance Stroll, damaged his front wing when he ran into the back of Kevin Magnussen, and bounced off the walls in the rain at the Swimming Pool complex, having started at the back, following a qualifying crash.

His 16th-place in the race is a devastating blow to his championship hopes, with Alonso closing to within 12 points of the Mexican.

Just off the podium was Lewis Hamilton, followed home by George Russell who remained more than 5sec ahead of Charles Leclerc and retained the placed when his penalty was applied.

Pierre Gasly was seventh, followed by Sainz, then a pair of fast-finishing McLarens: Norris ahead of Piastri.

Rear view of Red Bull of Max Verstappen in wet 2023 Monaco GP

 

2023 Monaco Grand Prix race results

Position Driver Team Time Points
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 78 laps 25
2 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +27.921sec 18
3 Esteban Ocon Alpine +36.990sec 15
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +39.062sec 13*
5 George Russell Mercedes +56.284sec** 10
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +1min 01.890sec 8
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1min 02.362sec 6
8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +1min 03.391sec 4
9 Lando Norris McLaren +1 lap 2
10 Oscar Piastri McLaren +1 lap 1
11 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +1 lap 0
12 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri +1 lap 0
13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +1 lap 0
14 Alex Albon Williams +1 lap 0
15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri +1 lap 0
16 Sergio Perez Red Bull +1 lap 0
17 Nico Hülkenberg Haas +1 lap 0
18 Logan Sargeant Williams +1 lap 0
19 Kevin Magnussen Haas DNF 0
20 Lance Stroll Aston Martin DNF 0

*Includes point for fastest lap
**Includes 5sec penalty

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