After the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari has been strongly criticized for how the events unfolded in Monte Carlo. The Maranello team started the race from pole position with Charles Leclerc and second place with Carlos Sainz, but practically threw a certain victory by making a mistake in the strategy chosen for Charles Leclerc, who at some point had a seven-second gap ahead of his teammate, but eventually finished the Monaco Grand Prix in fourth place.
Former Scuderia Ferrari driver Jean Alesi, however, goes against the tide, underlining the surreal atmosphere in which the Maranello team was forced to operate.
“My comment on what happened in Monte Carlo comes from the feeling I have had since Sunday morning. I have never seen such a frenzy around a driver. Charles Leclerc was surrounded, pressed by thousands of people who took his victory for granted. Posters on the streets, reports on the radios, everywhere. On the grid: the same. An excessive, almost frightening enthusiasm around Charles. When the first drops fell, there was a feeling of fear.”
Then Jean Alesi went on:
“A collective and contagious discomfort that multiplied the tension. The enthusiasm turned into apprehension and agitation. A climate which was amplified by the incomprehensible decisions of the race management, postponing the start at first and then avoiding a real restart when the track was dry. This was confusing for everyone. The race became a lottery. And when Charles Leclerc was relegated to fourth place, any analysis became impossible, in an atmosphere of total gloom “.
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Finally the former Ferrari driver concluded:
“With this I don’t want to be an advocate for lost causes or even an expert technician who analyzes the race data. I’m talking about very special sensations and I understand how it was possible to make a mistake in that total emotional chaos. Ferrari made a mistake, of course. But I don’t like putting the blame on those who work. It could have been much worse than the rest: a second and fourth place are not to be thrown away at all. Ferrari remains the best car on the track.”
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