As well as being a double Formula 1 world champion, it appears that Fernando Alonso also has an ability to see into the future, with the Spaniard having made an incredibly accurate prediction ahead of last Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Alonso’s 2023 season has certainly started emphatically, with the Aston Martin driver having successfully claimed back-to-back podiums for the Silverstone-based team at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
After starting on the front row, Alonso actually led the field into the opening corner after reacting quicker than Sergio Pérez to the lights going out.
The 41-year-old’s time in the lead was unfortunately short-lived, as Pérez quickly regained the lead thanks to his car’s supreme straight-line speed.
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Alonso did well to remain within a second of Checo for the vast majority of the opening phase of the race, before making his one and only pit-stop during the only Safety Car period of the race after his team-mate retired.
During his pit-stop, Alonso served a five-second time penalty for having started the race outside of his grid slot, something it was then deemed by the FIA after the race that he hadn’t served.
As a result, Alonso was slapped with a 10-second time penalty, which was revoked a few hours later after it was deemed that the veteran had in fact served his penalty correctly.
This saw the Aston Martin driver reinstated into third, with the Spaniard having slipped from second to third on Lap 25 after being overtaken by reigning world champion Max Verstappen.
Alonso still claimed his 100th F1 podium regardless of being overtaken by Verstappen, with the Spaniard having proven that he’s definitely still got what it takes to race at the front.
Verstappen breezed through the field with ease despite having started P15, with the Red Bull driver having moved into second on Lap 25.
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Incredibly, Alonso predicted that this would happen before the race, suggesting that the Aston Martin driver has a career as a fortune-teller following his retirement from F1!
“Fernando thinks you’ll be in P2 by lap 25 today,” the Sky Sports F1 reporter told Verstappen.
“Lap 25? Okay. I’ll try to do better,” replied the Dutchman.