Australia Paddock Diary: Alonso plays politician, Bottas’ homecoming،
MELBOURNE, Australia — After two consecutive races to kick off the season, Formula 1 is in pole position for the third round of the championship.
While the series must deal with Max Verstappen wiping out the competition and winning for fun, and the cloud that continues to hang over F1 amid multiple issues that have highlighted a lack of transparency in the sport, this n This is not the place for these stories. This is our Paddock Diary, which looks at some of the lighter moments in the build-up to each F1 weekend, taking you inside the paddock and telling stories that might otherwise go unnoticed in the fast-paced cycle of the sports news.
Fernando the politician
With a Lewis Hamilton-shaped hole left to fill at Mercedes, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso has been thoughtfully answering questions about his future since the start of the year. Add to the equation the considerable speculation over Verstappen's future at Red Bull and it remains an ongoing topic of discussion.
As he did at Aston's AMR24 launch in February, Alonso – who hasn't even decided whether he wants to race beyond 2024 – said his services would return first to the Lawrence Stroll's team.
“When I make this decision, the first office I go to will be Aston Martin,” he said on Thursday. “That will be my priority.
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“My loyalty to them… I'm grateful for the opportunity they gave me two years ago. And if we reach an agreement, that will be the decision, if I continue to run and we reach to a deal. If we achieve it I won't get a deal with Aston, I will look elsewhere, but it will be a second opportunity.”
Alonso declined to comment directly on other matters regarding Mercedes or its future. He was then asked if he had ever wanted to race in Aston Martin's next World Endurance Championship entry, which led to an answer about the Valkyrie supercar that the company built as part of a previous partnership with Red Bull.
“Yeah, not now. I love the Valkyrie,” said the two-time world champion. “I'm getting mine in July. I've been waiting so long because it's a year for delivery! So why not? Maybe if I drive this car home and then drive it on a racetrack it will will be magnificent.”
With just one question left, an opportunistic journalist pointed out that this would be the first time he would be able to drive a car built by legendary Red Bull designer Adrian Newey. In response, Alonso laughed, stuck his thumb in the air and said “Yeah”, before getting up and walking away to end the session.
Alonso wasn't the only driver to be non-committal about his future on Thursday. Drivers out of contract at the end of the season almost regularly face questions about 2025, given the busy nature of the modern F1 calendar. In Australia, at least, no one in this conversation seemed willing to take any risks about their next move.
With seats seemingly available on teams at both ends of the grid, it always feels like everyone is waiting for the first domino to fall.
New year, new Yuki?
Yuki Tsunoda's profanity-laced radio outbursts at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix made headlines, as they have throughout his career. Ahead of the second race of the campaign, he pledged to stop pressing the button on his steering wheel – which not only sends his message to the RB pit wall but, with what he increasingly feels regularly, to the global F1 audience.
Tsunoda had an immediate opportunity to test his new zen approach, spending much of the Jeddah race behind the much slower Haas of Kevin Magnussen. The Danish driver kept the faster cars at bay with smart defensive driving that allowed teammate Nico Hülkenberg to claim the only point on offer for 10th place.
It was a long and painful ride for Tsunoda, but he was glad he avoided creating a soundbite for the watching world.
“Really very happy with how I handled the last race,” Tsunoda said. “I would say if it was normal for me I would have pressed the radio. But like I said in a Saudi press conference, I want to change and I'm sure you'll see that from of this race. I'm happy to have been able to prove it a little.”
He added: “But it obviously wasn't easy. In the helmet, I was biting my tongue like hell!”
“I didn't know that it actually took a lot of energy — more than the usual G-force neck — to hold back my stress. I'm sure it will take some time to get there get used to it.”
It may take some time to get used to the new Tsunoda, but given that ESPN sources with knowledge of the situation repeatedly point to his fiery temperament as the main reason Red Bull never promoted Tsunoda in senior team, there are clear long-term benefits to his new approach.
Lando Chicken Store Date
Good evidence of F1's recent global boom can be seen in the new media in which its drivers continue to appear. Lando Norris is the latest to enter uncharted territory, as the latest guest on viral sensation Chicken Shop Date. The hugely popular interview show – set up in the style of a fast-food date between two people – is famous for host Amelia Dimoldenberg's awkward, deadpan interview style.
“It was a lot of fun,” Norris said. “It was the first time I met Amelia. As awkward as it was, it was nice at the same time. She was lovely. They're all so lovely, everyone who worked there.
“There are times when you don't know what to say. I'm not always good at making conversation, I'm a bit introverted. It's not my strong suit!”
Although it is a very popular show, Norris said his main reason for continuing is that he is a fan of the format.
“You don't really think about it [from a PR perspective], honestly. This is a great opportunity for them to interact with your racing fans, and vice versa. It’s more just the opportunity to do it that’s cool rather than who’s going to watch.”
Norris also joked about avoiding a penalty for an early start at the Saudi Grand Prix, which avoided further action as he did not trigger a sensor in the transponder along the line start and finish right.
“The worst thing is I said it in an interview with Sky Sports the day before qualifying,” Norris said. “They said, 'What are you going to do?' And I said, “I’m going to start early.”
“People found him and said, 'Oh, he manifested it.' This is the first proof for me that it manifested and it happened. It didn't work. I'm going to try to manifest it in a different way this time.”
It remains to be seen whether later this week Norris will tell the media that he will win Sunday's race.
Valtteri the Australian
A promotional poster in downtown Melbourne has attracted a lot of attention in the run-up to this week's race. The image shows the two Australians in F1, Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri… and the Finn Valtteri Bottas, who has taken on the role of honorary Australian in recent years.
“At first when someone sent me the photo I thought it was a joke, but when I got to Melbourne I saw this big billboard with Oscar, Daniel and me, so it’s pretty cool,” Bottas said on Thursday.
Bottas, whose girlfriend is Australian professional cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, currently looks more like someone you would find on an Australian playground, sporting a dyed blonde mullet and mustache. Ahead of this week's race, he also took part in an Uber ad aimed at the Australian market, in which he wore a suit resembling the lycra he wears when joining Cromwell on two wheels.
“We actually did it pretty much when I got off the plane in Australia, so we did it and it was so much fun.” Bottas added that the costume, which he wore for six hours straight during filming, was “actually quite comfortable.”
Asked if he would have done such a shoot while driving for the Mercedes team, Bottas replied: “Good question. Maybe I would have struggled with my confidence for the do, but now with more age, more experience, I have learned.” Don't take me too seriously.”
