For the first time in the history of Formula 1, the drivers who started in the top ten at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix finished in an identical order.
Ferrari fans will be delighted as it meant Charles Leclerc finally earned his first victory at his home Grand Prix, while Williams scored points for the first time this season through Alex Albon.
However, for the teams towards the back of the grid, it was a very tricky race weekend and speaking on The Chequered Flag Podcast, commentator Harry Benjamin thinks one driver in particular will be very worried right now.
Alongside Williams, Alpine also picked up points in Monaco leaving Sauber on their own as the only team who are yet to get off the mark this season.
However, the other team who will be coming away from the principality with concerns is Aston Martin.
Instead of closing the gap to Mercedes and the top three manufacturers, they’re being dragged into a battle with the teams below them.
RB could make a case for being the fifth-quickest team on the grid with Yuki Tsunoda impressing once again.
Benjamin now wonders whether Fernando Alonso will be panicking after recently committing his future to Aston Martin.
The Spaniard has 22 pole positions to his name but has failed to get out of the first stage of qualifying in the past two Grand Prix.
READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2
Fernando Alonso might be panicking after Aston Martin struggles in Monaco
The Formula 1 driver’s market is still a fascinating side story going on between each race weekend, but Fernando Alonso is no longer a part of the conversation.
Alonso was linked with Red Bull and Mercedes were also considering him as a potential replacement for Lewis Hamilton.
However, he ended that speculation by signing a new deal with Aston Martin which means he’ll be racing for Mike Krack’s team when the new regulations are introduced in 2026.
At the time, it seemed like a decent but not overwhelmingly obvious decision to make.
Aston Martin were brilliant at the start of 2023 and aside from a small improvement towards the end of last year, have stagnated while the teams around them have improved significantly.
Alonso might be panicking that by staying with Aston Martin he’s made the latest in a long line of poor career decisions during his time in Formula 1.
It may be a case of having some bad luck in the last few weeks, but the signs aren’t good when Lance Stroll isn’t picking up the pieces when Alonso has an off day.
It’s one of the reasons why no matter how quick the car is, they’ll never challenge for the Constructors’ Championship with this pairing.
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Fernando Alonso will want to see a serious improvement in Canada
Talking about the double world champion’s fortunes, Benjamin said: “When you see [Lance] Stroll went through into Q2, you wonder if [Fernando] Alonso got some traffic on his lap, are there some underlying issues, well there are underlying issues with that Aston Martin for sure.
“The upgrades haven’t been working for that team in the way that they hoped and they have been steadily going backwards.
“You think this time last year they were the surprise ones that had stepped up massively, but then slowly just went backwards and backwards.
“This will be ringing alarm bells with Fernando Alonso having just committed to Aston Martin again through until 2026.
“If there is not a big upturn in performance, Alonso is going to wonder if he’s made another bad career decision.”
READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Monaco Grand Prix didn’t go to plan for Aston Martin
Stroll and Alonso were running in 11 and 12 for Aston Martin in Monaco and the team weren’t panicking when it became clear that it might be difficult to score points.
They asked the Spaniard to back up the pack behind him, giving Stroll the necessary time to change his tyres in the pits and challenge Pierre Gasly ahead of him.
Unfortunately, their plan was quickly derailed as Stroll hit the barriers and picked up a puncture requiring him to stop again and ending the team’s hopes of a top-ten finish.
Aston Martin can’t afford those mistakes and RB have closed the gap to 20 points in the Constructors’ Championship as a result.
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