Places Alonso Would Rather Be! – Hall On F1.
It was supposed to be the reunion of The Dream Team.
McLaren Honda, so supremely dominant in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
World Champions at the helm in Fernando Alonso & Jenson Button.
Aero guru snatched from Red Bull in the shape of Peter Prodromou.
Rather than hit 88 McLaren Honda levels, the team have hit early 80’s Spirit & Williams Honda levels.
Retirements are the order of the day. The season has very quickly turned into a nightmare for all concerned. If Japan was the weekend where Alonso seemed to be trying his best to get fired and thus end the “GP2 engine” torture, this was the weekend where humour saved McLaren Honda’s season. Hamstrung by their inability to rectify the current issues, because to do so requires a token allocation only available over the winter, the end of the season can’t come quick enough for McLaren Honda, and most notably the drivers. For in Brazil the same problems would come back to haunt Alonso and he decided he’d rather be somewhere else. He’d rather be on holidays.
A cheeky wink to the cameras preceded it and then Alonso, having found a deckchair, lay back.
Enter the social media photoshop wizards.
Before the hashtag.
Grand Prix Times perfectly captured the mood at McLaren, as after the session both McLaren drivers took the proximity of the podium to take what would be their only chance to be on one this season. Again the realisation triggering humour amongst Alonso and Button.
Do we win? #F1 pic.twitter.com/wayRMvwge4
— Motorsport Week (@MotorsportWeek) November 14, 2015
@_McMike_ summed it up perfectly. #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe
At the beach #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/w2EW3GEsD6
— McMike (@_McMike_) November 14, 2015
The McMike original.
At the dentist #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/dfFAoK244C
— McMike (@_McMike_) November 14, 2015
Where will @alo_oficial end up next? #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/GaEEEEEVmH
— McMike (@_McMike_) November 14, 2015
The Template. Nice work McMike.
I'm working as quickly as I can RT @thebuxtonblog Please let this become a thing. #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/A1ABW7OIFW
— McMike (@_McMike_) November 14, 2015
The Buxton tweet.
Please let this become a thing. #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe https://t.co/6YrBDctDJl
— Will Buxton (@thebuxtonblog) November 14, 2015
The RT. Game on!
What followed was a snowballing of work from the collective genius of twitter.
It makes us at Motorsport.ie want to learn how to Photoshop.
On a boat #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/qWLtCTLXE3
— McMike (@_McMike_) November 14, 2015
At the zoo #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/6c2oq9ntdX
— McMike (@_McMike_) November 14, 2015
Man On The Moon #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/gSsdinS2Tc
— F1_Addict (@F1_Addict) November 14, 2015
#placesalonsowouldratherbe pic.twitter.com/9OxHE4uLYX
— McMike (@_McMike_) November 14, 2015
Ok, it's not like I have better things to do on a Saturday night #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/494gMmbzdj
— Zara Daniela (@ZaraDaniella) November 14, 2015
#PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe Thanks @jamesmoy for the original. #ItsASubtleOne pic.twitter.com/ZCC4yEpXEG
— Sean (@SeanMP) November 14, 2015
Quem quiser se divertir, siga a hashtag #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe Tem muita gente com tempo nesse mundo kkkkkkk #F1 pic.twitter.com/KvxysHY3WU
— Rodrigão Meira (@Cevadabuster) November 14, 2015
Must. Stop. Photoshopping. … #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe #F1 pic.twitter.com/bdlIP4FrK1
— James Gibson (@JGphotography5) November 15, 2015
#PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe BIC. What else? #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/u7hbK8GBhC
— Bahrain Int. Circuit (@BAH_Int_Circuit) November 15, 2015
On a cruise #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/Pg7wcpYTRY
— McMike (@_McMike_) November 15, 2015
or this…#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/CTUwUN8yWb
— Mattzel89 (@Mattzel89) November 14, 2015
Alonso keen to track the artwork.
Sneak peak behind the scenes: The 3 F (Felipe, Felipe & Fernando) checking out #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/pNvLzuTvkp
— Sauber F1 Team (@SauberF1Team) November 15, 2015
Just so you know, @alo_oficial himself, smiling, said he'd seen #placesalonsowouldratherbe
— Andrew Benson (@andrewbensonf1) November 14, 2015
Sorry @alo_oficial couldn't resist making this one! #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/UrJWmJghk4
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) November 15, 2015
@alo_oficial vió el caso Márquez y Rossi #Alonsoelmejor #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/KsrehTTV5G
— FA14 CR7 MV33 MUSIC (@DaRubn) November 14, 2015
@alo_oficial Si hasta Apareces en Los Simpsons #Alonsoelmejor #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/FJ39wmTqPD
— FA14 CR7 MV33 MUSIC (@DaRubn) November 14, 2015
The holy guy on the left. .. pic.twitter.com/kd5MU2KQbe
— Marc Wurzinger (@MarcWurzinger) November 14, 2015
Hangover Part IV out now in Brazil #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/BKtGnOkqwy
— James (@Iwanabeaferret) November 14, 2015
On the South Pole #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/Ks874N1we2
— Ute Vatterodt (@UteVatterodt) November 14, 2015
With the Stig on a proper Honda #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/YoFWV2bcNv
— Martin Sundberg (@plexxarn) November 14, 2015
Son todos muy buenos, no queda otra q sonreir #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe@Safetycast @EfectoMotor_ @VirutasF1 pic.twitter.com/KO52YzE5f7
— José (@Josesiete4) November 14, 2015
Here's my #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe #ShhhHesSleeping @wtf1couk @alo_oficial @MercedesAMGF1 @McLarenF1 pic.twitter.com/ewwQwX36yR
— Mark Whitelegge (@Mark_Whitelegge) November 14, 2015
Any Leo fans around? #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe pic.twitter.com/WRhsyUpgrC
— Zara Daniela (@ZaraDaniella) November 14, 2015
Having too much fun with these! #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe #F1 pic.twitter.com/YdNeX9AKSc
— Motorsport Week (@MotorsportWeek) November 14, 2015
The Painful Truth?
@alo_oficial was finally in @BBC_TopGear #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe @F1 pic.twitter.com/YWltGa5fKs
— Boris Sljivic (@boris_sljivic) November 14, 2015
Fernando isn't impressed with Seb's joke. #PlacesAlonsoWouldNotRatherBe pic.twitter.com/gH3aoquLwt
— Ky (@FiftyBuckss) November 14, 2015
McLaren Honda’s season saved by a hashtag or the release of a season’s worth of frustration?
Thank you to everyone involved. Particularly to @_McMike_ for brightening up what was otherwise a dull Formula 1 event and dark weekend. Humour is a very powerful tool and this weekend, possibly for the first time this season, it no doubt brought a smile to McLaren Honda and its fans.
The Power of Social Media. It’s a pity those at the top don’t get it.
Until the next time,
Dave