Fernando Alonso secured a podium in Jeddah, had it taken away and then given back. Now, in true witty Fernando fashion, he is asking George Russell for that P3 trophy back. 

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix really did have strong Bahrain vibes as Red Bull made it a pair of one-two finishes to start the season, Sergio Perez winning ahead of Max Verstappen this time, while Alonso once more joined the Red Bull drivers for the podium celebrations.

Alonso then got to spray the rosewater and collect his P3 trophy, but not long after he was forced to hand it over to Mercedes’ Russell.

Earlier in the race Alonso had served a five-second time penalty having been out of position in his grid box, though the FIA decided post-race that the Aston Martin rear jackman had touched Alonso’s AMR23 before the five seconds had passed, therefore issuing a 10-second penalty.

That dumped Alonso to P4 then, the Spaniard not so downbeat about losing the podium, but criticising the FIA over how it came about.

The story was not over though, as Aston Martin were later successful in their appeal, and that meant Russell had something which belonged to Alonso.

And as we know, Alonso is the master of playful sh*thousery, as Russell was reminded via his post on social media.

“Fernando and Aston Martin deserved the podium today 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,” Russell posted complete with a picture of him looking gleefully at that P3 trophy.

Cue a picture from Alonso of his own then, he wants his trophy back! Of course it would not be Alonso though if he did not go about this in a hilarious way.

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Mercedes were not to be outdone though, as on this particular occasion, Alonso met his match.

The eight-time Constructors’ champs took that picture of Russell with his P3 trophy, and gave it a makeover to reflect the updated state of play.

Considering Mercedes’ current struggles, P4 is not a bad result after all to be fair!

Russell did not have answer for Alonso on Sunday in Jeddah when it came to on-track performance, Russell five seconds adrift of the Aston Martin driver at the chequered flag.

Russell and Mercedes will be hoping for better luck next time out then, with the Australian Grand Prix being the next stop on the F1 2023 calendar.

The article Fernando Alonso requests podium trophy back from George Russell with hilarious tweet appeared first on Planetf1.com.