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They say it's impossible to overtake in Monaco, but on that day, Fernando proved that legend wrong.
The 2010 Formula 1 season began amid great anticipation. Three teams—Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren—appeared capable of competing for the title. During the first five races, four drivers emerged victorious: Jenson Button twice, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, and Mark Webber once each.
By the time the Monaco Grand Prix rolled around, Button was leading the standings, three points ahead of Alonso. In both practice sessions, the Spaniard was the fastest each time, cementing his status as the favorite for pole position. However, his third free practice session came to an abrupt end when he crashed into the wall at turn 3. With qualifying coming up soon after, Alonso was unable to return to the track on Saturday. In the end, it was Mark Webber who took pole position and became the new favorite for the race.
A start from the pit lane
The race started relatively calmly. Sebastian Vettel moved up to second place by overtaking Robert Kubica. After the first lap, Alonso stopped in the pits to change tires following Nico Hülkenberg's accident, with the intention of finishing the race with this set of tires.
He quickly overtook the two HRTs of Senna and Chanhok, already gaining four places by the sixth lap. Over the next four laps, he looked for an opportunity to overtake Di Grassi's Virgin, eventually passing the Brazilian with a daring maneuver that forced Di Grassi into a mistake.
On the next lap, Alonso overtook Jarno Trulli's Lotus, then three laps later he attacked Timo Glock, each time just after the tunnel, at the start of the new chicane. Now maintaining a steady pace, Alonso moved up to 17th place on lap 15 and, three laps later, he overtook Kovalainen's Lotus.
The pit stops between laps 18 and 28 proved decisive, allowing Alonso to gain ten places. Retirements also played an important role in his comeback, with 12 drivers failing to finish the Grand Prix. Thanks to this aggressive strategy, Alonso crossed the finish line in sixth place. Starting in 24th position on the grid, he gained 18 places, equaling the record for the biggest comeback in Monaco, a feat he shares with Andrea de Adamich (1973), Guy Edwards (1974), and Éric Bernard (1990).
