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Alonso says new Monza asphalt not up to F1 standards
Fernando Alonso believes the new asphalt laid on the start/finish straight of the Monza circuit is not up to Formula 1 standards.
Pablo Elizalde
Edited: Sep 2, 2017, 5:29 PM
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Fernando Alonso believes the new asphalt laid on the start/finish straight of the Monza circuit is not up to Formula 1 standards.
The resurfaced straight contributed to the troubles drivers had during qualifying on Saturday, as the smoother surface made it very slippery in the treacherous conditions.
Romain Grosjean crashed his Haas at the start of Q1 after losing control on the straight.
McLaren driver Alonso admitted he was not in favour of having two types of asphalt on the circuit.
"I think the main straight was just too wet," said Alonso. "The new asphalt was not F1 standards, let's say. We can't have that difference between one asphalt and the other."
The Spanish driver feels F1 chiefs need to get "creative" to find ways to entertain spectators after a delay of over 2.5 hours.
"It's a shame. It's happened a couple of times already and it's bad for the spectators, it's bad for television and hopefully the FOM or the FIA will be creative and find a new way to deal with this kind of situation," he added.
"It's the usual problem. It's not the first time it happens. From the outside, the spectator wants to see the cars running, and the people on track want to see the cars running, so they need to find a solution.
"The track was fine, it was in a condition to run, only the straight was too wet.
"It's another strange episode and let's see if the FIA or FOM can find a solution to offer a bit of a show while the track conditions improve."
Grosjean's team boss Gunther Steiner meanwhile backed his driver's comments that qualifying should not have started.
"It was not only him, there was a lot of drivers," said Steiner. "The only one you heard on TV was him, but you know we listen in to the radios and there was a lot of drivers who mentioned that it was too wet, you cannot see."
Additional reporting by Lawrence Barretto
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