Fernando Alonso’s thrilling late fight with Sergio Perez stole the show at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and earned the two-time champion a podium finish even he doubted was on the cards.
Alonso held off the charging Red Bull of Perez for most of the final laps despite the Mexican driver getting two different uses of DRS — down the start/finish straight and on the run to Turn 4 — for the majority of their fight.
Perez did eventually overtake the Aston Martin with two laps left, but Alonso was able to stay in DRS range himself and passed the Red Bull driver in thrilling fashion on the run to Turn 4 on the final lap.
Alonso then won a drag race from the final corner to the finish line to claim third position, crossing the line just 0.05 seconds ahead of Perez.
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Asked if it was the best podium finish of his career, Alonso said: “The closest, that’s for sure.”
The Aston Martin driver admitted he thought Perez would disappear once he got past.
“It was a very intense race,” he said. “There was no time to relax, a very strategic race as well, saving the tires, saving the battery always in case you needed on a DRS opportunity for Checo.
“Honestly I thought that I had things under control in the last stint, until maybe five laps to the end where I started pushing a bit more, I had more juice in the tires and I thought everything was fine. And then Checo was playing the same game, he had a good tire at the end of the race.
“He overtook me two laps to the end, and I thought, OK, it’s gone. And then I had one more chance, and it was enough.”
Explaining how he defended the position for so long, Alonso said the last few corners of each lap had been key in making sure he stayed ahead when Perez got DRS on the pit straight.
“I think when you run just in front of another car, you have better downforce, you have clean air. That was maybe good for me in terms of tire management, and he was struggling a little bit to go into Turn 10, 11 and 12 behind another car.
“That was the game we were playing, those three corners were crucial for an overtaking opportunity. Being the car in front, maybe you have better grip always.”
While Alonso’s late fight with Perez will be talked about for a while, the Spaniard said his start and early pass on Lewis Hamilton was the most important part of his podium finish.
“Obviously the last lap, overtaking [Perez], it was quite a lot of commitment. We were both just all or nothing into the corners. But I think to be honest, the most important overtake of the race has been to Hamilton into Turn 4 on Lap 1. That changed my race.
“If I start P4 and I have to fight with Hamilton the first stint, even if I can eventually get in front by Lap 10 or whatever, my tires would never be in a condition to extend the first stint and then have a tire advantage to Checo in the second and third stint. For me, there is one crucial moment in my race, and it’s Lap 1 into Turn 4 with Hamilton.”