Alonso offers Alpine apology over crash in Monaco drama

Fernando Alonso has offered his apology to Alpine after crashing on his final run of Monaco Grand Prix qualifying.

The two-time F1 champion qualified seventh around the streets of the principality ahead of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes after a weekend that seemed to indicate Alpine was off the pace.

But the French team found the required speed when it mattered to get Alonso and team-mate Esteban Ocon into the top 10, although the Spaniard was hoping for more.

Pushing hard on his final lap, Alonso went straight on at Mirabeau and into the barriers front-on, contributing to the red flags that finished the session in chaotic scenes.

"I braked late, I locked the tyres and unfortunately I didn't make the corner," explained Alonso.

"Obviously, I have to apologise to the team because apart from the positions you could make, every mistake this year costs money for the cost cap.

"So I am not very proud of qualifying today, nevertheless, hopefully, tomorrow we can do a good job."

Alonso would have been unable to improve his position even without his error as Sergio Perez slid into the barriers at Portier.

The Red Bull was collected by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, blocking the road and ensuring there would be no change to the timesheet.

"In Q3, we had two new sets of tyres," said Alonso. "On the first set, I was P5 so I was hoping on the second attempt to improve that.

"Even without my mistake, it was red-flagged anyway because of Checo and Carlos so P7 is what it is today."

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