Pit Chat: The Alonso effect is still being felt

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Pit Chat: Fernando Alonso effect still in place

The best bits from the season opener in Australia featuring Daniel Avocado, Kimi Raikkonen (of course) and the lasting effect of Fernando Alonso.

Damn it’s good to be back!

But first…

Ripe and ready

It was a tough home Grand Prix weekend for one Daniel Ricciardo…or should that be 100%, no question of a doubt, Daniel Avocado from now on.

The cheeky little five-year-old met up with Ricciardo, with the Renault driver starting by asking the polite version of the question: “What the f*** have you been calling me?”

We’re glad he did get called Daniel Avocado, purely for this following creation from Circus Comic:

We thought this wouldn’t be topped in terms of Daniel Ricciardo content, but how very wrong we were.

That’s not a knife

There was the hilarious exchange between Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel in the FIA drivers’ press conference. Vettel can be very proud of that Aussie accent. Clearly he had been practicing in the mirror all week in preparation.

Noisy neighbour

But arguably the best Ricciardo moment came when being interviewed after yet another DNF…

Brilliant.

A welcome return

And we say ‘arguably’ because this was an extremely nice moment as well. Welcome back Bobby K.

Tempting fate

And a word of warning to all Ricciardo fans out there. Be very careful what you put on your signs ahead of the race…

Erm, yes he does!

'Daniel Ricciardo will have to get a harder skin'
'Daniel Ricciardo will have to get a harder skin'

Finnished early

Ricciardo’s compatriot Mark Webber was on hosting duties over the weekend and started by grabbing a selfie with the class of 2019.

Well, almost the whole class. A beer and an ice cream were clearly the better options for the two Finns, Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen.

Kimi corner

And that leads us nicely on to Kimi corner. Our favourite place. Thank goodness this great man did not retire after the end of last season.

Quote of the weekend?

And on those pics we all loved over the winter…

And if you thought even for a split second that Kimi had changed during the off-season:

Valtteri Bottas 3.0

Some who might well have changed though is Valtteri Bottas. Absolutely loved that radio message after crushing the opposition in Australia.

More of this please, Valtteri. We won’t mention you reversing in the pit lane, though. Plot twist: we will.

New season, new intro

Also undergoing a makeover was the TV title sequence, featuring all 20 drivers in various poses.

Someone always has to go one better don’t they? When Formula 1 meets soap opera…

Or how about when Formula 1 meets dating show ‘Take Me Out’?

That wasn’t the only Formula 1 and TV crossover, was it Haas?

The Fernando Alonso effect

Even though Fernando Alonso has left Formula 1 (for now), he was still in many minds at the Australian Grand Prix.

This was incredibly cheeky from Red Bull after Honda powered them onto the podium.

And he certainly came into our minds too during the race. A Spanish driver in a McLaren car retiring early after a power unit related issue, you say?

Mind you, Alonso is certainly doing ok for himself away from Formula 1, isn’t he?

Any other business

Mercedes may have well and truly trounced Ferrari in Australia. Can’t hurt having a look though, can it?

We really shouldn’t be laughing at all at Williams’ continued plight, but come on…

And just in case you were in any doubt where the first race of the season was…

Last word

All joking aside, Formula 1 lost a giant of the sport on the eve of the new season. Charlie Whiting will be sadly and deeply missed.

There really is only one last thing to say…

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