Some big reputations are on the line
@BenAndersonF1 The ramifications of 2020’s driver market merry-go-round now play out in front of our eyes. They suggest Formula 1 is tougher than ever – even for drivers with phenomenal reputations, now under threat like never before. To hear competitors as renowned as Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo – both Monaco Grand Prix winners – say they feel they are extracting the maximum from their new cars, only to glance at the timing screens and see they are half a second or so off their respective young team-mates – who are both yet to win a race never mind a world title – is quite astonishing. Alonso was ahead of Ocon throughout Monaco practice, until Ocon got Pirelli’s tyres into a better temperature range during qualifying. But even if Monaco exaggerated things, Ocon…