What ‘that’ rumour and ‘that’ Brazil podium told us about Alonso

Fernando Alonso never deals in half measures. He is an all-or-nothing man – both on and off the track. It is an attitude that extends to how he views those who work around him, and he interacts with.

Just as he gives 100% in everything he does, so too he demands the same of everyone else in return. You are either with him, or you are against him. That is why it was really no surprise that he did not take too kindly to the social media rumour mill surrounding him as he arrived at Interlagos last week for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

A fairly innocuous tweet from respected Spanish television journalist Albert Fabrega, talking about a ‘rumour’ doing the rounds of the Mexico Grand Prix paddock after the race, had opened a pandora’s box of speculation and innuendo about what was really going on. And in this social media era where far too many people write first and ask questions later, suddenly Alonso found himself dragged into something that was absolutely nothing to do with him.

F1 fans and content creators whipped themselves up into a frenzy that Alonso was poised to announce his retirement after growing frustrated with Aston Martin, or was even part of an incredible driver swap with Sergio Perez that would see him become partner to Max Verstappen. There was even talk that these moves were all part of a shake-up triggered by Lawrence Stroll giving up on his Aston Martin dream and getting ready to offload the squad.

It was all hogwash though. There was absolutely no basis of truth in any of it, and Alonso had found himself bang in the centre of it for the pure and simple reason that he shared nationality with Fabrega. The original rumour that was widely floating around Mexico on Sunday night – that other teams had picked up and was referenced by other journalists beyond Fabrega – had zero to do with Alonso.

It was all to do with the future of Perez, as there were whispers going up and down the pitlane that he was definitely out in 2024. There were even some wild suggestions that he had been told on race morning in Mexico that he wasn’t being retained and that he could even be out for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

After Alonso's difficult weekend in Mexico, an innocuous tweet from a Spanish TV pundit embroiled him in a swirl of rumour

This Perez chatter ultimately proved to be wide of the mark too, but it had fallen into the background as the Alonso rumours somehow seemed to gather a momentum all by themselves – even though at no point did any of those who mentioned ‘that’ rumour ever single out a driver and a team. But, as they often say, a lie can run halfway around the world before the truth has even got its shoes on. It’s exactly what happened on this occasion: fiction got in front of the facts.

F1 drivers are well used to being the focus of rumours (it’s not called silly season for nothing), but most times are unflustered as the best option is simply to ignore chatter surrounding them. There is also a truth to the fact that it never hurts to be linked with decent seats elsewhere because it can help remind your bosses how valuable you are…

In this case, though, there was no satisfaction at all for Alonso in finding himself talked about in relation to F1’s top team. Instead, he was furious. As he met the media in the Interlagos paddock on Thursday morning for his regular pre-event briefing, he did not smile too much when someone jokingly asked if he was going to Red Bull.

“Nothing to say,” he said. “Just rumours: normal paddock rumours from people that are just trying to make fun of it and gain some followers, and these kinds of things. But I'm not into that game.”

There perhaps could not have been a more publicly brilliant response to those who had questioned his commitment to the Aston Martin project

The reason why Alonso was not happy was that he felt he had been put in a situation where, during a troubled phase of the season for Aston Martin, his loyalty to the squad was being questioned unnecessarily by outsiders whose motives were simply attention-seeking.

Be it the original innocent tweet that got spun beyond belief, to those who further embellished what the rumour was about, to those who ran with it and started committing stories about him being on the move, Alonso felt it was deeply unfair that those purporting lies were doing so for personal glory and without thought for the consequences they were having on him and those around him.

As he scanned the Aston Martin hospitality to look into the eyes of the media present, he said: “I am not enjoying [it] because even in this room, I appreciate that all of you are journalists, professional people, that have been in F1 for so many years.

“You gain your respect, and this is how it should be. So, all the rumours are coming from people that are not in this room, are just here to make fun and I think it's not funny when they play with anything.”

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Alonso made it very apparent that he was unimpressed by those questioning his loyalty to Aston Martin

Pushed on if he felt that the situation had questioned his loyalty, Alonso said: “Of course, that's the thing that they are making, but I will make sure that there are consequences.”

Those consequences were something that was dealt with privately behind closed doors. But there perhaps could not have been a more publicly brilliant response to those who had questioned his commitment to the Aston Martin project, and the job the team was doing, than the manner in which Alonso delivered that sensational podium finish on Sunday.

With the team having methodically gone through the errors of its ways in Austin and Mexico, where perhaps it had focused a bit too much on 2024 car experiments rather than each weekend’s best package, it returned to the sharp end of things. The car was much more competitive; the team and drivers were switched on in the Friday qualifying as others got it wrong on their Q3 prep laps as the storm rolled in, and Alonso was nothing short of brilliant in the closing stages of the race as be battled Perez for the last podium spot.

His clever use of battery power, the tactical brilliance of differing his racing lines through corners to confuse Perez behind him, and the manner by which he did not give up when the Red Bull got past him to retake the third spot, were the perfect proof of a driver giving and delivering 100%. That is, after all, the only thing Alonso knows how to do.

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

His stirring drive to the podium after denying Perez third at the line was the perfect riposte for Alonso