To everyone’s surprise, the car proved to be competitive, and Alonso claimed a podium finish once again. Russell found himself needing to fulfill the bet, but there was a twist in the story. Initially, Alonso was penalized with a five-second penalty for work conducted on the car during an in-race penalty, seemingly putting the tattoo bet on hold.
The stewards had ruled that Aston Martin had worked on the car when Alonso came in to serve the penalty, but the team argued that the rear jackman, not Sam Russell (as he handles the front wheel), had touched the car as he slid the jack into place.
