Fernando Alonso had a lot of fun at the Bahrain Grand Prix – as evidenced by what he said over the radio when he overtook Carlos Sainz to move into the podium places.
We were warned that Aston Martin have a quick car this year, and the Silverstone team certainly delivered. Red Bull are clearly a cut above the rest as Max Verstappen raced to victory with Sergio Perez behind him, but the third podium spot was taken by the 41-year-old Alonso.
And it's not as though he was able to walk to that position. He had a tricky start and lost a couple of places when team-mate Lance Stroll tagged him on the opening lap of the race.
But, on the way back up the order, he had battles with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton – the latter of which he clearly enjoyed very much as he shouted over the team radio: "Yes! Let's go!" when he eventually got past his old rival for good.
Alonso was even more savage a little later on, when he swept past Sainz after Charles Leclerc was forced to retire. "Yes!" he shouted again, before this time saying to his fellow Spaniard: "Bye bye!"
Being able to compete with the top teams is something Alonso is thrilled about. And he is hoping that it something which continues this year, as he wants to carry on competing with the best drivers on the grid, even at his age.
"I would love to start in front of them and then use the pace," he said when asked if he wants more battles with Hamilton. "But we had not the best start today and we had to pass on track.
"It felt like there was more exciting and more adrenaline for sure. We did enjoy it as well." Asked if Aston Martin can build on this strong start, he simply added: "I hope so."
And he made sure to pay tribute to his "hero" team-mate Stroll, who was racing despite having a broken wrist and toe. "My team-mate had surgery 12 days ago and now he's fighting right with everybody. It's amazing for the team. It was a great weekend and finishing on the podium in the first race of the year is just amazing."
