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Fernando Alonso's return to F1 cane hand in hand with dollops of good-natured humor and fun for him and his rebranded Alpine team.
The Spaniard was not afraid to lean into all the jokes throughout the season. From being called a 40-year-old rookie to clinching his first podium after a wait of 105 races, Alonso took it all in his stride. But nothing was bigger than 'El Plan'.
Now, a video has emerged on social media showing the Spaniard reacting to all the 'El Plan' memes the internet has made at his expense. Watch it here:
The phrase has been synonymous with the two-time world champion this season. It first emerged on a Saturday at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix after Alonso qualified in P5 for the race next day.
When asked about his performance by reporters, Alonso said:
“El Plan… you have to wait a few months to know it. You need to believe in el plan for now.”
Alonso's plan had already seen him put in some solid performances in the Alpine in 2021 up until that moment.
Most notably, the Spaniard rekindled his rivalry with old foe Lewis Hamilton at the Hungaroring to help teammate Esteban Ocon contend for the race win.
Fernando Alonso finished 2021 in P10, with 81 points to his name. He narrowly beat out Frenchman Ocon in P11 with 74 points.
Lewis Hamilton better as rookie, feels Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso believes Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was better as a rookie and has 'gotten worse over the years'.
In a video doing the rounds on social media, Alonso can be seen discussing Hamilton and how the Briton has changed over the years. He said:
“During that time he wasn’t too bad. He was a rookie. He got worse with years. Now I see him a bit more lost. There’s always good guys and bad guys in the sport.”
Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were teammates at McLaren for one solitary season in 2007. Alonso was the reigning world champion at the time and Hamilton was in his debut F1 season.
The two shared a splintered relationship throughout the campaign, to say the least. Their lack of cohesion ultimately ended in an untenable situation. Both drivers lost out on the 2007 drivers' world championship by a single point to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
