Fernando Alonso over his long years in Formula One had the highest of highs and the most miserable of lows. A double world champion and considered by many the best F1 driver of all time, his career moves and controversial statements ensured he was remembered for more than just his raw speed and talent. He recently posted a throwback video from his Renault days driving a V8 engine through the cramped streets of Monaco. It was a video aimed at giving the current generation of F1 fans a mere glimpse of what the engine sounds were before. In the many replies he got, one such was from the famous tech analyst, Matthew Somerfield who is currently working in the Motorsport group as the Assistant Technical Editor.

Somerfield referred to Alonso’s famous radio message “GP2 engine, GP2 engine” from the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix for which the Spaniard received a lot of flack. Alonso was in no mood to tolerate this little nuisance and instantly hit back. He called Somerfield the “clown of the day”.

To this, Somerfield responded like a good sport, not that he had any other option as well. This is what he had to say:

Fernando Alonso ensured he gave his fans many reasons to smile with his solid reply to a desperate attempt of a toll. It is remarkable that despite achieving so much, people still tend to remember or mention his frustrating McLaren years from 2015-2018. It wasn’t the best of years for him with the Honda Power Unit being terribly off the pace compared to everyone else. Not only were there issues with raw speed, but the reliability was nothing to be proud of. During the course of those years, Fernando Alonso went down from chasing his third world championship to trying to finish in points at the very best. He retired at the end of 2018 season claiming to be going on a sabbatical with an option to return to McLaren F1 if the interests align. However, the team’s boss Zack Brown clearly mentioned a while back that they only see Alonso returning with a ‘third’ car. If the Spaniard returns in 2021 is still a mystery.