David Kennedy believes Fernando Alonso’s age stopped him from claiming victory in the recently concluded Monaco Grand Prix. Alonso, the 41-year-old who lost out on the pole by a narrow margin is believed to have lost it due to his age disadvantage over younger Max Verstappen.
The Spanish driver lost the pole to Verstappen by 0.084 seconds as he failed to pull out a perfect sector 3 in Monaco. Despite having great Sector 1 and Sector 2, it was the last sector that made all the difference, apart from the questionable strategy.
The Dutchman was relatively poor in the first two sectors, but he pulled off a stunner in the last sector to snatch the pole from the Asturian. Admittedly, in a narrow circuit like Monaco, claiming pole position always gives an extra edge to claim the victory, as overtaking is usually considered difficult around this track.
Being an incredibly physical sport, an F1 driver’s performance greatly depends on age and agility. And hence, this is where the two-time world champion lost the ground to the defending champion in Monaco, believes Kennedy.
Kennedy believes age cost Alonso those milliseconds
Even though the AMR-23 still has to catch up against the mighty RB-19, the former F1 driver pointed at the old age of Fernando Alonso. According to him, no matter how good a driver is, age ultimately catches up.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Planet F1, the Irish former driver said, “I think he had a car that could have put it on a pole in Monaco. It was just that last several hundredths of a second.”
Pole in Monaco!!! 💪 I had to risk it all, but it all came together in that final sector👌
Very happy to have had such a great Saturday and to be on pole here for the first time ☝ Thanks, @redbullracing 👏 pic.twitter.com/vv0RBjSDoZ
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) May 27, 2023
Following this, Kennedy spoke about the age factor, “It is just nature’s way and you can’t beat it. There are drivers and whether they take it on one, two, or even three years – it just slips away. We have seen it time and time again over the years. It’s a hard fact but that’s nature’s course.”
Kennedy on Verstappen and Alonso’s loss
David Kennedy, however, also praised the Red Bull star after blaming it all on Alonso’s age. Furthermore, he also compared the lap with the Ayrton Senna-like performance.
“I don’t use the word lightly, it was Senna-esque. What we saw in Monaco was truly a lap of the greats. You rarely see performances like that,” asserted the 70-year-old former driver.
He’ll go far that lad 😃#MonacoGP @alo_oficial pic.twitter.com/ui2szeyraK
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 28, 2023
On the other hand, Fernando Alonso had a fantastic chance to claim his 33rd Grand Prix victory at the Principality. With one Red Bull of Sergio Perez behind and if the other Red Bull of Verstappen could have been kept at bay.
However, there are still chances for him, as the British team is on their way to bringing massive upgrades in the upcoming races. With Red Bull having a budget cap penalty, things might favor the Spanish driver in achieving his much-anticipated race victory.
