“The Real El Plan”: Fernando Alonso Leaves Max Verstappen & Co. Turning Heads as F1 World Hops on the “No.3” Hype Train

The first Free Practice session of the 2023 Formula 1 season has set the stage for arguably one of the most exciting seasons this sport has witnessed. With all the hype surrounding Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso delivered the goods as he put in a stonking lap on the Soft tire to finish P2. What’s more? The Spaniard split the two Red Bulls as the established pecking order seemed to come under threat by the Silverstone-based team.

Pre-season testing gave us a taste of what the upcoming season would look like. Aston Martin’s pace looked strong as pundits even predicted them to be ahead of both Mercedes and Ferrari. But given ‘it’s only testing‘ fans were apprehensive to jump on the hype train just yet. But after today’s FP1 session at the Sakhir International Circuit, fans couldn’t hold themselves back any longer as Alonso becomes a bona fide title aspirant in the eyes of the fans.

The real pecking order will only be apparent at tomorrow’s Qualifying session. However, the early signs are good as both the Aston Martin’s finished in the top 10 of the classifications. As soon as the session concluded and the classifications were made final, fans stormed onto Twitter to share their reactions to Alonso’s amazing practice performance.

Fans react as Fernando Alonso hunts down his third F1 title

If the Aston Martin is really as good as the stopwatch would make us believe then Alonso has a pretty good chance of at least putting up a title bid. Max Verstappen and Red Bull still go into the season as clear favorites, but their aero-testing penalty may impede how quickly or even how much they can develop over the season to keep their rivals at bay. And this fact isn’t lost on the fans either.

One fan even commented, “Should’ve known that Alonso to Aston Martin was the real El Plan.”

Let’s take a look at just a few of the fan reactions from Alonso’s promising start to the 2023 F1 season.

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It would appear that Alonso’s trademark El Plan may have finally come to fruition.

Almost everyone is excited to see the 41-year-old battle it out with the likes of Max Verstappen. However, a few fans were lamenting a missed opportunity for one of F1’s most cherished drivers.

Aston Martin has decidedly taken a huge step forward with the AMR23 since last year. But such a massive performance gain has left a few fans skeptical.

It’s safe to say that F1 fans can’t wait to see El Plan in action.

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Do you think Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso have a real shot at the title this year?