A podium worth a victory
Victory number 33 will probably remain a chimera in 2023, but the third place obtained by Fernando Alonso yesterday in Brazil remains a masterpiece of tenacity and determination as well as sublime talent. In the last stint, the Aston Martin driver found himself having to duel with Sergio Perez, who has the missile Red Bull RB19 at his disposal which was able to remain glued to the AMR23 number #14 for over ten laps without causing a crisis tires.
Perez found the gap on the penultimate lap at the end of the straight, Alonso responded in the last lap to Turn-4, the Descida do Lago, the left-hand bend at the end of the Reta Oposta, the stretch where for the second time it is possible to operate the DRS. Perez was then able to open the rear wing on the Arquibancadas in a sprint that rewarded Alonso for 53 thousandths. A third place that will remain in the memory of many fans and enthusiasts who followed the Brazilian Grand Prix, made exciting by the all-Latin duel between Alonso and Perez.
‘Magic and podium’ is the headline of the Spanish sports newspaper AS which defines Alonso’s overtaking on the last lap “the overtaking of the year“ described by Alonso with the summary “It was an all-or-nothing maneuver”. In fact, after passing Perez on the outside on the straight, Alonso took the inside, braking in front of Checo and the two almost ended up in contact while going through the bend.
‘Alonso, a pure state’ it is the opening of Brand That recalls the duel with Michael Schumacher at Imola in 2005, 18 years ago. Indeed, Perez’s pursuit of the Asturian was reminiscent of that of the Kaiser, but then there was never an overtaking followed by a counter-overtaking. ‘Epic’ it is instead the title of Sports World who writes: “Alonso seemed to have lost everything in his battle against the superiority of Red Bull, but he pulled off a real stroke of genius.”
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