When Hamilton discovered a secret line after the asphalt broke up: 'Almost a second faster'

About ten laps before the end of the Monaco Grand Prix, the race director decided to stop the race to check the asphalt in Turn 19. The freshly laid asphalt was coming loose, resulting in several sizeable holes. It was impossible to repair, yet the decision was made to resume the Grand Prix.

In the F1 paddock, there was both surprise and praise. On one hand, some people felt the race should have been called off for good, but at Aston Martin, however, it was considered a wise decision to continue. In those remaining laps, Fernando Alonso managed to secure the first point for the British team this season.

Pedro de la Rosa, Aston Martin ambassador, said afterwards in response to a question from GPblog that he initially felt it was necessary to stop. He said: "It was very sensible, because there was something going on with the tarmac, with both cars [Charles Leclerc’s and Lance Stroll's Aston Martin]crashing in exactly the same place, that it was worth checking. So I was really impressed by that decision."

De la Rosa did not make too much of the asphalt coming loose. "You know, I've been in racing many years. I remember in 2008 in Canada when the asphalt was opening up, it was qualifying and there was no red flag. There was nothing. The people kept pushing.

De la Rosa has seen something similar in Formula E as well. “It's not something that is new. In Formula E, I've been in some races where the asphalt has opened up much worse than this. But I really liked the way the race director handled the situation, checked, and then restarted with a standstill start, which I thought also was very good because there was the argument as well [for] a rolling start, just to make sure that the last corner was okay, but he cleverly let the cars pass a couple of times.