The reigning F1 world champion produced a flawless performance on the streets of Monte Carlo as others faltered, most notably team-mate and chief title rival Sergio Perez who crashed in the first part of qualifying and finished a lowly 16th place.
Monaco had been pinpointed as Alonso’s best chance to end the Red Bull runaway train, but key pitstop calls and timings didn’t fall his way at Aston Martin, even though he was still able to secure his best result of the season in second place.
PLUS: Why Alonso and Aston made the call that guaranteed Verstappen's Monaco victory
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was arguably the star of the weekend, qualifying third and finishing in the same position, to notch up his third career F1 podium. Given recent tensions at the team, the result couldn’t have come at a better time.
Meanwhile at Ferrari it was another frustrating day, with Carlos Sainz slipping from fourth to eighth while Charles Leclerc couldn't make progress from sixth, while Mercedes caught the eye with its major upgrade package which received a positive initial report from the team.
Podcast host Martyn Lee is joined by Matt Kew and Stuart Codling, who were both in Monaco to witness the action first hand, and analyse how the Monaco GP was won and lost.
