Fernando Alonso might have left Aston Martin staff smiling after the race in Miami - and he had them laughing during it too.
The Spanish icon notched his fourth podium finish in five races in America, crossing the line third behind the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. The top three positions are also mirrored in the drivers standings', with the 41-year-old seemingly revitalised since joining Lawrence Stroll's team.
But even the sport's most experienced driver is prone to a rash moment it seems. The two-time world champion was second behind Perez in the early laps, but was clearly struggling for pace on his medium tyres and requested a strategy change.
"Plan A minus 12" he said over team radio, seemingly indicating he wanted to come into the pits 12 laps before he'd previously planned. But he later admitted the bizarre order was a slip of the tongue, and not a drastic tactical change.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Alonso was asked whether he meant his 'minus 12' quip: "No, I had Plan A and Plan B and I mixed them up, [so] minus 12 was not what I meant," he answered. I said sorry a few seconds later, they understood because they were laughing. It was not possible to do minus 12 because we had already passed that lap."
But whilst he saw the funny side, Alonso was very much in serious mode when he targeted closing the gap on Red Bull in the upcoming weeks. Verstappen and Perez have thus far won all five races between them, with their superiority in pace telling.
"At the moment it is hard to keep them behind," said Alonso. "It has been much better than expected (the season). We have been to a few circuits now with different layouts and characteristics, better weekends and worst weekends. This one was quite tricky because we started off the pace and we only went back in the game in qualifying."
And he's confident that the team's current ascent to fighting with the front runners won't prove a flash in the pan, adding: "I think the team is just growing in every area and we are stronger and stronger. It feels good."
Along with teammate Lance Stroll, Alonso has helped take Aston Martin to second in the Constructors' title race, currently ahead of both Mercedes and Red Bull. The team could only finish seventh in 2022.
