Beyond being a two-time World Champion and one of F1’s all-time greats, Fernando Alonso has forged a reputation for having produced some of the most quotable team radio messages over the years. Having always been a canny operator on the track, his words off it are often calculated too – and on the radio, it’s no different, even though he has been critical in the past of Formula 1 openly broadcasting messages for the public. Even still, from the ecstasy of victory to some of his more pointed exchanges, in no particular order, here are some of Alonso’s most iconic messages from his career to date.
We couldn’t start anywhere else, could we? This was probably the nadir of the troubles faced by Alonso’s reunion with McLaren -Honda, and when he was passed at Suzuka by the Toro Rosso of Max Verstappen, he vented by saying the power unit was a “GP2 engine. GP2.” Before letting out a frustrated “ARGH” afterwards.
But in an honourable mention here, Alonso would comment on the team’s power unit at his home race in 2017, adding: “The engine feels good. Much slower than before.” Jenson Button famously sang the Queen classic after winning his World Championship in 2009, but Alonso actually did so himself after taking his first title at the Chinese Grand Prix four years.
Sorry to say it, Jenson, but if you were to compare the two versions in talent show style, Fernando probably has the better singing voice. To Qatar in 2021 as Alonso was chasing his first Formula 1.