Frustrating qualifying session - Alonso
The World Champion, Fernando Alonso, qualified second, and could have done even better if it wasn't for the little 'spin' Schumacher made while the other drivers were in their last fast lap. Alonso remains diplomatic about the incident and is already focussing on the race tomorrow.
"It was good… until the final moments. I was on my final lap and three tenths up on Schumacher when I saw yellow flags as I got to Rascasse. In those circumstances, you have to lift off. I lost all my advantage and had to settle for second place."
A lot of people seem to think Schumacher’s ‘accident’ was deliberate – he knew he would retain the fastest time by going off at that moment. What do you think?
"I don’t really have an opinion on that…"
How was the car?"Perfect. We made some changes to the set-up this morning and the balance was excellent. The Michelin tyres were very good too. I think we have an excellent package."
Ferrari were a long was back on Thursday, and they bounced back today. Why?"That’s Monaco for you… The track changes a lot from Thursday to Saturday, and the grip levels are never the same… What’s more, every team has its own way of working in practice, and that makes it hard to draw comparisons. We knew we would have to watch Ferrari closely in spite of their poor performance on Thursday."
Even so, second position on the grid is not the end of the world…"It is still a good performance, for sure. I qualified second here last year too, and I finished the race in fourth position. Tomorrow, my goal will be to win the race."
Source Renaultf1
