How bad must Aston Martin be for the Monaco circuit, to which many teams entrust themselves to try to minimize the limitations of their single-seaters, to have further highlighted the lack of punch of the AMR26, a car that was supposed to break the mold under the new regulations, and which at this rate will end up destroying James Bond’s favorite brand. The sports cars of the world’s most famous secret agent incorporated an arsenal only within reach of Hollywood blockbusters; the race cars that Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are driving this weekend through the slides of Monte Carlo barely allow them to avoid the walls that embrace the track winding through the Principality.
The moment the Silverstone (Great Britain) team is going through is so critical that the result of this Sunday’s race (3:00 p.m., Dazn) is the least of it. Alonso will start second to last and Stroll will start last. If we take as a reference the universe that separates them from the front row, which will be occupied by Kimi Antonelli —fourth pole position for the championship leader— and Max Verstappen; and the headaches caused by the prototype they are driving, it is normal for both to be lapped sooner rather than later. “It was one of those laps we call magical,” declared Antonelli, overjoyed. “Yesterday [Friday] we struggled a bit, but we managed to turn it around. It was the most intense qualifying of the year, and when you want to find the limit it’s not easy at all because the walls get closer and closer,” delved the Italian, the first to start first in this representative place since Jarno Trulli achieved it in 2004. Carlos Sainz, for his part, will start 12th.
Where Ferrari, for example, hoped to make the most of a car that is clearly behind Mercedes in normal conditions —“I think today [in qualifying] we lost something compared to yesterday. The car was capable of getting pole,” said Lewis Hamilton, who will start third—, Aston Martin is having an even tougher time than in other scenarios. The guardrails that embrace Monaco forgive no one, and are deadly for a problematic single-seater like that of the British team, which is equipped with an alarming weak engine and monstrous unreliability, in addition to its own gearbox that one cannot trust: Alonso kissed the barrier when approaching the tunnel exit variant during the first free practice because his rear end locked up. The half-spin came cheap for the Asturian and his team, who avoided having to do tremendous work and resolved the matter with a simple nose change.
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To the well-known mess Honda is involved in, other transcendental elements must be added, such as the gearbox, whose design this year is handled by Aston Martin. The rear lock-up that preceded Alonso’s scare on Friday was caused by a jolt when downshifting. “Monaco is not the most suitable place for these kinds of things to happen when downshifting, and for a lock-up or the engine to accelerate. You will crash and look ridiculous,” Alonso agreed. “On this track, gear changes are crucial for confidence when entering corners. And, at the moment, the car is too inconsistent in that aspect,” added the two-time world champion with Renault (2005 and 2006).
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