What Was the Taylor Swift and Fernando Alonso Link Up All About?

There’s just over a month for 1989 (Taylor’s Version) to drop! With every re-recorded album Taylor Swift releases, she also releases songs ‘From the Vault’—songs she didn’t originally release. To announce her ‘From the Vault’ tracks for 1989 (TV), Taylor—the mastermind—collaborated with Google to set up an anagram puzzle. 89 anagrams had to be solved 33 million times worldwide to unlock the vault. Swifties didn’t need another invitation to put Google in overdrive. Now that the world knows the four tracks that’ll accompany the original list, here’s another anagram for you. NDOFRENA AOOLNS. Hint: Formula 1.

Haven’t figured it out, or need confirmation of your answer? It’s Fernando Alonso. A few months ago, Taylor Swift sent the F1 community into overdrive. How? After her breakup with Joe Alwyn—the man she wrote her ‘Lover’ album about—she reportedly raced back into the dating scene. With whom? You guessed it! Fernando Alonso. Here’s a sneak peek into how it all transpired.

The Fernando Alonso and Taylor Swift “dating” saga

Gossip and drama are just as prevalent as racing in Formula 1. There’s no hiding the fact. Towards the end of April, the gossip account Deuxmoi got an anonymous tip about the two starts. As per the New York Post, “A couple of Spanish magazines have been posting about TS and Spanish F1 driver Fernando Alonso. According to them, the couple has been seeing each other for a week now. Nothing serious since they are both recently single.” Whenever a new partner enters the scene in F1, there’s an apparent buzz in the paddock. When that name is Taylor Swift (even though they were just rumors), you can expect what happened.

Although the two-time champion laughed off the rumors before the Miami GP, he didn’t just let the opportunity go. He played along with it. When the rumor mill started churning, Aston Martin posted a TikTok featuring a sped-up version of Swift’s ‘Karma.’ In the video, Alonso did nothing but look into the camera and wink. The team captioned the post, “Race week era😉,” referencing Swift’s many “Eras” as she embarked on her Eras Tour. It didn’t end there.

Read More: Taylor Swift Gets Snubbed as Rumored Ex-Flame Fernando Alonso Names His “First”

A few days later, Alonso posted a TikTok of him working out. Pretty normal, right? It wasn’t him lifting weights that caught everyone’s attention. It was the song playing in the background—22 (Taylor’s Version). What else? He captioned it, “I’m lifting 22’s.” Alonso saw an opportunity to play with everyone, and he did. The ‘Anti Hero’ of F1 could’ve been the Romeo in Swift’s ‘Love Story,’ but it wasn’t meant to be. Even though the rumors died down eventually, it wasn’t before people in F1 made the most of them as well.

Daniel Ricciardo wasn’t a Fernando-Taylor shipper

When the rumors started, Taylor Swift references went around the paddock at lightning speed. But if there’s one person who fully committed to the “Faylor” shipper role, it was Sky Sports commentator David Croft. During the Azerbaijan GP—when rumors were at an all-time high—Croft took the liberty to not-so-subtly drop Taylor Swift references while talking about Alonso on track. A few of them were: “Fernando Alonso has just gone fourth fastest, like he’s driving a ‘Getaway Car!’”; “Fernando Alonso there looking for that ‘Blank Space’”; “Maybe that’s Alonso’s ‘Style’ and maybe at the end he’ll say ‘Would’ve, Could’ve Should’ve.’” 

While Croft played into the whole charade, Daniel Ricciardo couldn’t have been any clearer on his take on the subject. Considering a possible relationship between Swift and Alonso, fans couldn’t wait for her next album. They felt the album about the Spaniard would’ve been Swift’s best yet. What did Ricciardo say about it, though? “I called BS on that from the start.”

Watch This Story: Fernando Alonso Reaping Benefits from Taylor Swift Love Story Rumors

What did you think about the Fernando Alonso and Taylor Swift connection? Could it have been a love story for the ages?