Alonso Shows Why He’s The Defending Champion

Formula One teams are already gearing up for the qualifying session of the Monaco Grand Prix and Team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes No. 1 driver Fernando Alonso showed his superb driving skill when he posted the fastest lap time in the two practice sessions undertaken at the Circuit de Monaco where the race will be held on the 27th of this month.

Alonso is the two-time defending champion and last year’s winner of the Monaco Grand Prix. That is why expectations are high for the Spaniard to perform well especially that his rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton is leading the driver’s championship.

Alonso used the soft compound Bridgestone tire Potenza during the morning and afternoon practice sessions. All the teams agreed that speed is not the only thing that a car needs to navigate the Monaco circuit but downforce and traction. That is why in the testing at the Paul Ricard circuit, teams have been focusing on their tire setup and aerodynamics. The rear wings are adjusted to give maximum downforce without producing too much drag which will hamper the speed of the car when going through the straight parts of the circuit.

Alonso’s Formula One car was subjected to this setup which hallowed him to record the fastest lap time in the morning at 1 minute and 16.973 seconds. In the afternoon practice session, Alonso was even faster clocking in at 1 minute and 15.940 seconds.

During the morning practice session, Hamilton recorded the second fastest lap time before his car’s starter motor failed. This forced the young British driver to cover only 14 laps but still managed to set the second fastest lap. BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld recorded the third fastest lap during the 90-minute morning practice session. In the afternoon, Hamilton suffered the first crash of his Formula One career when he misjudged his speed and slammed into a tire wall at the first turn after the start/stop straightaway. “Today was the first time I ever drove a Formula One car around Monaco and it was awesome,” Hamilton said after the practice session. “I found out how unforgiving the track can be when I went off in the second session.... I made a tiny mistake and the back of the car slipped a little and that was it. There is just no room for error in Monaco.” Indeed, the speed at which these cars go is faster than those sports cars equipped with the DC Sports cold air intake system, and the narrow circuit means that drivers should calculate their speeds when turning the many corners of the circuit.