Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso clearly had things on their minds other than the Bahrain Grand Prix, with the duo having been seen comparing race shoes during the post-race press conference.
Verstappen started 2023 emphatically with a comfortable victory, with the Dutchman having led from start to finish with ease.
Fernando Alonso’s race was much more eventful than the reigning World Champion’s, with the Spaniard having found himself in seventh at the end of the first lap, despite having started fifth.
Given how strong Alonso’s race pace had been during Free Practice, it was no surprise to see him overtake George Russell for sixth, before enduring an excellent duel with former team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
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Alonso’s and Hamilton’s scrap for fifth was arguably the highlight of the race, with the Aston Martin driver having come out on top.
Fifth soon became fourth for Alonso, after Charles Leclerc retired from second, marking a miserable start to the season for Ferrari.
With Verstappen and Sergio Pérez comfortably in-front as a result, it left Alonso to battle it out fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz, for the final spot on the rostrum.
Alonso overtook the Ferrari driver easily, with his AMR23 having gone wherever Alonso wanted it to, with the 41-year-old having praised the team over the radio during the race about how incredible the car is.
Alonso ultimately finished somewhat comfortably in third, to confirm that Aston Martin are indeed a side who can challenge for victories this season.
The double World Champion’s delight was easy to see, with him having jumped into the Aston Martin mechanics in parc ferme.
Alonso stood proudly on the podium for the first time since the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, with it looking likely to be the first of many for the veteran with the Silverstone-based team.
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Verstappen looked particularly pleased to see Alonso on the podium, with the duo having previously spoken very highly about one another.
Weirdly, though, during the post-race press conference they were seen looking at Alonso’s shoes.
A photo on Reddit showed Alonso showing Verstappen his shoe, with the duo seemingly being deep in conversation about the Spaniard’s footwear.