Alonso felt “funeral” atmosphere after P2 finishes for Ferrari F1 in past

Sainz scored his first podium for Ferrari in Monte Carlo as he finished second behind Max Verstappen.

Alonso spent five seasons with Ferrari between 2010 and 2014, finishing on the podium 44 times. 

Reflecting on his fellow Spaniard’s first top three finish for Ferrari, Alonso felt his podium finishes with the team didn’t get the respect they deserved. 

“I remember five or six years ago I was doing nine or ten podiums per season,'' Alonso said after the race in Monaco. 

“It was a funeral afterwards in the press conference: ‘When will you win?’. And now I think when I see that we have 97 podiums, I think especially the last five or six years of those podiums were not taken into respect probably, we see now. 

“But no, very, very happy for Carlos, I spoke with him on the grid, at the national anthem, he was already on the podium at that time because he was starting third after the Leclerc problems. With the Bottas issue it was even better. 

“A good start to the championship as well, hopefully we can see a race win soon. But we know that in a normal circuit, Mercedes and Red Bull are still in front. It was an opportunity, he must take it, so it was good.”

Alonso has endured a difficult return to F1, struggling to get on level terms with Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon.

Assessing his chances for the rest of the season, he added: “Yeah, I think it’s going to be more when it’s not a street circuit. Baku is a little bit of an unlucky moment. In a way, the start of the season is not the best possible calendar for a new-coming driver.

“I had Imola, I had Portimao, two circuits I was not racing on for years, or never, like in Portimao. The guys, they were racing months ago in the championship. Two street circuits, Baku and Monaco, so the first six races of the championship, four are extremely challenging to get used to. From France, a new championship hopefully starts for me.

“On the steering side, I hope we can get something that I can feel a bit better [with] the balance of the car, and more feedback than what I feel now.”