Alonso explains dry tyre pit stop: "It changed completely"

Fernando Alonso has explained the decision-making process that led to Aston Martin fitting his car with dry tyres during the rain in the Monaco Grand Prix. The 41-year-old confirms that it was his decision for the dry tyres. In the end, Alonso finished where he started: P2. 

The rain created chaos in Monaco for the drivers and for those sitting on the pit wall. With hindsight, the rain created the chance for Aston Martin to put pressure on Max Verstappen. But Aston Martin went in the wrong direction. 

"For me, it was very clear that the track on that lap we stopped was completely dry, apart from turns seven and eight. It was completely dry, 99% of the track, so I stopped for dry tyres. The weather forecast was a small shower and a small quantity of rain as well, what we had as a team. And we had a lot of margin behind us
to put the dry tyres and, if necessary, the inter tyres. But in that minute and a half that it took to go through turns five, six, seven and eight, again, it changed completely," Alonso said in the press conference before later confirming it was his decision. 

Chance to win the race

Alonso started the race on the hard tyres, whereas Verstappen started on medium tyres. This meant that Alonso couldn't challenge going into the first corner unless the Dutchman made a mistake off the line. Alonso praises his team for this decision, despite it being unusual. 

"I don't think we had a chance [of winning] to be honest. I think we were brave with the strategy. It's not normal that you start on the first row of the grid and you choose the hard tyre, trying to do the opposite of the leaders. That shows the commitment from the team and how aggressive everyone was in Aston Martin trying to get the win," he added.