Fernando Alonso sends hilarious podium plea to George Russell after Saudi Arabia GP chaos | F1 | Sport
Fernando Alonso could not resist sending a hilarious social media post to Formula 1 rival George Russell, following a chaotic Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Alonso secured his 100th podium finish in Saudi Arabia, after finishing third in Sunday’s race.
This milestone was quickly dashed though, as the Spanish stalwart was demoted into fourth after being issued a controversial penalty from race officials. Initially, Alonso was handed a five-second penalty having been out of position on his grid box.
This was then extended to 10 seconds after the race, after the FIA deemed an Aston Martin rear jackman had touched Alonso’s car before the five seconds was up. The decision came after Alonso had already been presented with his third-place prize on the Saudi podium.
Hitting out at the decision, he said: “I think today is not good for the fans. When you take 35 laps to apply a penalty and to inform about the penalty and you inform after the podium, there’s something really wrong in the system.
“But it’s the way it is. I feel sorry for the fans. But I really enjoyed the podium. I took the trophy, I had the pictures, I celebrated with the champagne.” This then saw the third-place trophy handed to the man who finished fourth in Russell.
Despite the promotion, Russell offered his sympathies to the Spaniard, claiming Alonso and his Aston Martin team ‘deserved’ their spot on the podium. Fernando and Aston Martin deserved the podium today,” Russell wrote on Twitter.
“But I’m very happy to pick up our first trophy of the season and super proud of the hard work the team is putting in. Let’s keep pushing.” The drama was not over there though, as the FIA then once again reinstated Alonso into third, after admitting making a mistake in their initial penalty.
Alonso was now back on the podium, and back with his hands on the trophy and made this known to Russell on social media. Responding to the Englishman’s post, the Aston Martin man posted a hilarious photo of him peering into the camera, along with the message ‘Hola’ and a trophy emoji.
