Alonso finished on the podium for the first timeꦕ since the 2014𝔍 Hungarian Grand Prix after he beat Red Bull’s Sergio Perez to finish third in Qatar.

Alpine’s o🀅ne-stop strategy worked beautifully as Perez ran out of laps to catch and ov🐼ertake the Spaniard.

“Yeah, ﷽unbelievable,” he said. “Seven years and finally we got it. We were close a couple of races but not enough. Sochi was the last possibility and yeah today [we did it].”

The two-time F1 champion started the race from third, moving up two spots on the grid due to grid penalt𝔍i🐬es for Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas.

Starting on the softs, Alonso admitted that he thou🐽ght about 🔴leading the grand prix before lights out.

“Honestl꧃y, I thought about leading after lap one💖,” he added. “I thought with the red tyre, I could have a go on Lewis, but I couldn't.

“Then with Checo it was very close at the end. But I’m so happ❀y for the team. Also Esteban P5, so a good Sunday.”

Alonso credited Alpine for𓄧 its strategy, revealing that it planned to do a one-stop before the race.

“We planned a one-stop from the beginning, but we never knew how bad was the wear 🍸and the degradation.

“It is a new race for everybody. But yeah, I think it was quite well execut�🥃�ed the race. The pitstop was fantastic. The team was great. The reliability of the car is superb, and you know they deserve it.

“I am enjoyin🥃g. F---. I was waiting 🌳so long for this.”