The winner of the first Qatar Grand Prix was Lewis Hamilton. But if you ask most F1 fans who the ‘real winner’ from the Losail Circuit was, chances are most of them will point to Fernando Alonso.

The Alpine driver finished third, finally ending his podium drought, which dated back to 2014. And in his post-race interview, Alonso failed to defend against the impulsive usage of an expletive word. but one can really attribute this more to happiness and less to a behavioral problem. Not that anybody would question, anyway.

“F***, I’ve been waiting for this,” Alonso said.

“It’s been seven years but finally we got there [a podium finish]! I’m so happy for the team. “The team were excellent and the reliability of the car is great at the moment. I’ve waited so long for this and I’m so happy!”

“Yesterday and today as we take care of the tires better than the other teams, so, we can be delighted with that, happy for the team, thank you for the voting,” Alonso said on his radio after winning the Driver of The Day.

Fernando Alonso used his experience and some luck in his podium finish

Alonso got lucky even before the race began by starting at P3 because of grid penalties to drivers ahead of him.

In the race, Alpine opted for a one-stop strategy, and Fernando Alonso came into the pits to put on the hard compound tires. But the real drama was yet to come. As the race neared its end, drivers on similar strategies suffered punctures and some had to pit and some failed to finish.

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While this was happening, Alonso was running in third and the charging Red Bull of Sergio Perez was closing in on him every lap. Alpine advised their driver to stay off the kerbs. Alonso suggested that Esteban Ocon defends ‘like a lion’. Ocon failed to defend like a lion and Perez passed him, with Alonso next in his sight.

Then fortune struck and a stray car of Nicholas Latifi brought on a VSC for the last two laps, much to Alonso’s relief. From then on, the Spaniard ‘easily’ finished his race from where he started, using all his experience to manage his tires.

After the race, Fernando Alonso was clearly holding back his happiness. But to be more accurate, not happiness but the explosive burst of joy that fans are used to from Alonso whenever he wins.

And this was a win for Fernando Alonso mind you, even if it came in the form of a third place on the podium.

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