George Russell finally hands over the 3rd-place trophy to Fernando Alonso after Jeddah

Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Fernando Alonso finally has his third-place trophy from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso just wants what is his, and he is taking to social media to get it.

At the end of Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the veteran driver came across the line third, behind the Red Bull tandem of Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen. But as Alonso celebrated on the podium with the Red Bull drivers — and celebrated the 100th podium of his career, becoming just the sixth driver in Formula 1 history to reach that milestone — word came out from race officials that he was being hit with a ten-second penalty.

That dropped him into fourth place, handing the third-place finish, and the third-place trophy, to George Russell.

While Russell missed out on the podium presentation, he was able to get his hands on the third-place hardware. The Mercedes driver acknowledged the strong day that Alonso put together, but was willing to accept the trophy:

However, Russell’s time as the third-place finisher was short-lived. As we outlined Sunday afternoon, Alonso’s appeal of the penalty was eventually granted, and he was reinstated as the third-place finisher in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Yet, the trophy was still in Russell’s hands.

And Alonso wanted what was his, so he took to social media in an effort to get it back. First was this post from Monday:

Then on Wednesday, Alonso showed off his GIF game in response to another tweet from Russell, where the Mercedes driver showed off the third-place trophy:

The Mercedes social media team even got in on the game, giving Russell directions from Mercedes’s Brackley Headquarters, to Aston Martin’s Headquarters near Silverstone, just up the road:

Thankfully, we are happy to report that the third-place trophy from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is now safely at rest at Aston Martin Headquarters:

Sometimes, social media can be a force for good.

Alonso has been one of the major storylines early in the 2023 F1 season, as his pair of third-place finishes have Aston Martin near the top of the Constructors’ Championship standings, and Alonso sitting in third behind the Red Bull duo in the Drivers’ Championship. He’ll look to keep that hot start alive in next week’s Australian Grand Prix.

Hopefully the trophy situation will be a little smoother next week as well.