The 2022 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix race took place in difficult conditions due to heavy rain that fell on the circuit moments before the start, which was delayed due to a problem in the grid panel system.
When the FIA decided to resume the test, more than an hour after the scheduled time, the drivers began to create a train of cars unable to overtake each other. Fernando Alonso, who was running in seventh place, was aware that Lewis Hamilton would not be able to overtake if nothing strange happened, and he let the single-seaters in front of him escape because he preferred to keep his place.
When the pit stops followed, the Asturian rode a set of hard ones instead of making an extra stop to put in the intermediates, while the Brit stopped six laps early, dropping many seconds.
The red flag caused by Mick Schumacher meant that the pilots could put on new tires of their choice, and both selected the means. Since the restart, Alonso was losing up to three seconds per lap with Lando Norris, the car in front of him, but he kept Hamilton at bay. However, the Spaniard had pace, and he showed it in the final moments of the race, when he pushed hard to try to create a five-second gap so that his team-mate, Esteban Ocon, could stay in the points despite his suspension.
This caused Alpine to joke on social media with a distorted image of the two-time world champion’s car taking up the entire width of the track and the phrase “what we saw” the spectators on screen and “what they saw” the drivers on the not being able to pass Alonso.
Alpine’s followers did not take long to fill the answers with similar images in the different defense actions of the pilot from Oviedo, such as the Silverstone sprint race or the appointment in Hungary last season.
In the era of digital communications, the team left this nod towards the Spaniard, about whom there has been much talk of his renewal or of having Oscar Piastri as a replacement in 2023 . What happens in the future is conjecture, and only within the Enstone team will they know what they will do, although, at least, they leave room for good humor with the great performance of their driver
