Lance Stroll Taunts Alpine After Fernando Alonso's Podium With Aston Martin
In a shock move, Fernando Alonso, former world champion, left Alpine last summer to join Aston Martin, leaving fans puzzled about his decision. However, it appears that the Spaniard knew what he was doing (for the first time in his career?), as he scored his 99th podium in F1 on his Aston Martin debut. In contrast, his former team, Alpine, struggled to finish in P9 with his replacement Pierre Gasly, while Esteban Ocon retired from the Bahrain Grand Prix.
On his Aston Martin debut, Alonso's teammate, Lance Stroll, finished in P6, remarkably only 12 days after undergoing keyhole surgery for a wrist injury. Stroll even made a cheeky comment about Alonso's former team after the race, saying:
"Yes man! You're happy no? You're happy you're not in Alpine, haha. Happy that you're in the green car now."
Alonso's relationship with Alpine ended on a sour note, with the Spaniard telling the media that he was counting down the days until he could leave the French team. He had a number of clashes with his teammate Esteban Ocon and accused the team of favouring the Frenchman after a series of engine failures. Alonso was forced to retire from six races during his final season with Alpine, leaving him thoroughly fed up with his former employers.
Alonso's decision to move to Aston Martin was considered a huge gamble as Aston Martin seemed to be struggling in the ground-effect era. Fortunately for the team, and Fernando, they now seem to be challenging the top 3 with a car that shows plenty of performance. On top of this, they're now boasting a keen upgrade strategy for the rest of 2023.