Fernando Alonso produced a masterclass at the Sao Paulo GP this past weekend as he returned to the podium by overtaking Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in the dying minutes of the race. Even though it was the overtake on the Mexican that promoted him to the podium spot, Alonso believes that the first-lap overtake on Lewis Hamilton was the most critical to his race.
As quoted by it.motorsport.com, the Spaniard said, “I think that, honestly, the most important overtaking of the race was the one on Hamilton on the first lap. It changed my race. If I start from fourth position and have to fight with Hamilton in the first stint, even if I end up catching him and overtaking him on the tenth lap or so, my tires will never be in a position to extend the first stint and then have an advantage on Checo“.
Alonso managed his tires perfectly during all three stints as he ensured that he had enough to keep the flying Red Bull at bay for most of the race. While there was a moment when Perez did manage to overtake Alonso at the first chicane with three laps remaining, the Mexican just did not have enough traction to keep the Spaniard behind. As a result, the Aston Martin driver took only one more lap to retake third place from Perez.
The two then had a race to the finish line, with Alonso taking the chequered flag just 0.05 seconds ahead of the Red Bull driver. Hamilton’s overtake perhaps was the key element in the Alonso vs Perez battle as the latter, too, complained about how he lost time while battling the Briton.
Sergio Perez was unhappy to follow Lewis Hamilton’s strategy
Since Red Bull had put Sergio Perez on a similar strategy to that of Lewis Hamilton, the Mexican believes that he lost out significantly. While speaking after the race, the 33-year-old said, “I don’t know what to say. We should not have followed Lewis there in the first stint, but anyway. Good points“.
Even during the race, Perez voiced his concerns when Red Bull asked him to pit soon after Hamilton made his stop. The driver from Guadalajara told his Red Bull team that they should focus on their plans rather than covering Hamilton during the race.
However, since Perez managed to finish fourth despite the team’s strategy issues, he received Christian Horner’s praises. The Red Bull team principal told reporters (as quoted by planetf1.com) how happy he was with the way Perez drove. Horner believes that other than a slight mistake that allowed Fernando Alonso to pass Perez, the Mexican made no mistakes.
The 49-year-old believes that Perez’s performance in Sao Paulo was also critical as it helped him to outscore Hamilton by 12 points. Both drivers are in a battle for second in the championship, with Perez 32 points ahead of the Mercedes racer.
