Fernando Alonso’s third place celebration in Bahrain was a real party in the Aston Martin garage from the moment the Asturian got out of the car and ran to hug his team. And when he arrived at the pit the euphoria was unleashed again. The last to join was Lance Stroll, who before went through the press area to congratulate his partner with a question that will raise blisters in Alpine.
While the Spanish driver pointed out to the media that “there is still a long way to go” to get closer to the seven seconds that separate them from the Red Bull, the Canadian appeared from behind with a big smile and she took him by the shoulders before hugging.
“Congratulations. Happy not to be at Alpine, huh?“, said the young man in his ear, but before the microphones, to praise his career. Upon hearing Stroll’s words, Alonso could not help but smile and admit that “I am happy in green.”
🗣️ “You’re happy, aren’t you? Glad you’re not at Alpine?”
Lance Stroll’s message to Fernando Alonso after the success of Aston Martin in Bahrain 👀 pic.twitter.com/n0vdKySfyz
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) March 6, 2023
The son of Lawrence Stroll, owner of Aston Martin, completed a brilliant run to finish sixth after only having been able to participate, with pain, in free practice, since he missed the preseason after injuring his wrist a week before. The North American underwent surgery and arrived very precisely at the first Grand Prix of the year.
Still, his pass on George Russell just out of the pits gave wings to Alonso to hunt down Hamilton. Stroll was so fast that he touched the Spaniard when he was trying to overtake in the fourth corner after the start, although it all stopped there and both continued without problems.
‘Magic’ thought it had been one of the Mercedes. “They can’t do that!” He exclaimed without knowing that it had been his partner. It wasn’t until he was waiting to get on the podium that he realized that he had been the Canadian. “I thought it was George,” he told Verstappen, then brushed it off at a press conference: “It went very well and he was next to me at turn four. We have been lucky because no car has had any problems and we have been able to continue. It has been our lucky day”, he said, highlighting the points that the two got for the team.
