Fernando Alonso aims dig at Max Verstappen after losing out on Monaco GP pole

Fernando Alonso has fired a cheeky dig at Max Verstappen after the Red Bull star pipped him to the Monaco Grand Prix pole. The Aston Martin star claimed Verstappen had been “inconsistent” and prayed he would struggle again in the Principality on Sunday.

He highlighted that Aston Martin usually makes good starts and saw this as an opportunity to pass in the race. He commented: “Max has been a little bit inconsistent so maybe it’s one of those bad ones tomorrow.”

Alonso missed out on pole by less than a tenth of a second after a thrilling qualifying session but the Spaniard was confident the team could still challenge. He added: “I feel good. Obviously pole position means a lot in Monaco but today Max was a little bit faster, which is a shame.

“I think first row on the grid here for us is quite a big thing. The last sector seemed to be our weakest point on the circuit. Let’s see tomorrow what we can do in terms of strategy, if there is any weather coming. We will try to win it.”

Alonso topped the timing sheets with just seconds remaining in a thrilling qualifying session, sending the Aston Martin garage into celebration. But, Verstappen still had to complete his lap after opting for an extra warm-up lap to ensure his tyres were in perfect condition.

The Dutchman appeared to have blown his chance of securing pole with timing screens showing him two-tenths slower than Alonso at the second sector. However, he turned it around in the final few corners with a mighty last sector and clinched pole by less than a tenth. 

After the session, Verstappen even admitted he had collided with the wall on his final run. He said over team radio: “Oh my God I hit the wall two times. We needed to pull that out the bag, but very lovely.”

Aston Martin has been competitive throughout the weekend with Alonso challenging the frontrunners throughout practice. Earlier this month, Alonso had even tipped he could win the Monaco Grand Prix after Aston Martin’s sizeable jump forward in 2023. 

However, it was not a perfect afternoon for the British manufacturer with Lance Stroll knocked out of Q2. After taking pole, Verstappen stressed he still faced a battle to hold onto P1 on Sunday.

He explained: “We need a clean start tomorrow. It’s a short run to Turn One. In Monaco anything can happen, a safety car, rain, you name it. There’s always a bit of chaos involved. Race pace wise the car is quick so that is not the problem. Just need to keep it clean and calm.”