Fernando Alonso has had it with the current Formula 1 regulations. Following Practice 1 in Monaco on Thursday, the three-time world champion made some big statements about the current state of affairs, at least as far as his situation is concerned:
“This is probably the worst generation of cars I ever drove in Monaco,” said Alonso, per Motorsport.com.
Alonso is mostly sounding off about how energy is recuperated to charge the hybrid system’s battery, which has caused a lot of controversy because it forces drivers to lift through corners rather than stay flat or push as hard as possible. This situation came to a head during the Japanese Grand Prix, where most corners around Suzuka are usually taken at high speed, but this year drivers had to accommodate to harvest energy.
With Monaco’s layout being the complete opposite, it was originally believed that this wouldn’t play much of a role this weekend, but according to Alonso, that’s not the case:
“The way you charge the battery, with the braking and lifting off and things like that, obviously creates a lot of inconsistency into the engine braking of the car,” he added. “Sometimes you have less, sometimes you have push and sometimes not. If the battery is completely full, then you don’t recharge because the battery is full. So you don’t have engine braking. It’s like pushing.
“It’s just the rules. Hybrid cars should not be racing. It’s as simple as that,” said Alonso.
Adding insult to injury is Aston’s performance at the principality. Alonso finished FP1 in 20th place, ahead of the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas and his teammate Lance Stroll in last place. The regulations (which affect everyone), plus the team’s lack of pace, are surely frustrating the Spaniard, who has recently become increasingly frustrated with the situation.
The silver lining: Stroll finished 15th in Canada, which is the squad’s best finish of the year. If they are, indeed, taking baby steps toward improving the package, then hopefully Monaco can signal a few more steps in the right direction.
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