Fernando Alonso works his magic again to take photo finish podium in Brazil
The Spaniard did not let third place slip away after an intense battle with Mexican Sergio Pérez, with whom he crossed the finish line just 53 thousandths of a second apart.
Fernando Alonso takes third place in Brazil / @Aston Martin Aramco
At Interlagos, it is impossible not to think of the late Ayrton Senna, a Formula 1 legend and local idol for many drivers, even if many of them were not yet born at the time of his death. References on the helmets, on the fans' banners and even on the track, which forms the Senna S at the junction of turns 1 and 2. It was just after this point, at Turn 5, that Charles Leclerc made the first radical change to Sunday's race in Brazil, even before the start.
On the formation lap, the cameras focused on the Monegasque's car, which ended up in the barriers due to an irreparable hydraulic system failure, making things difficult for Ferrari in the fight for second place in the constructors' standings, with two Mercedes in play and only Carlos Sainz defending points for the red team. "I hope we get rid of this clutch as soon as we get back to Maranello." The Spaniard appealed to his team to change the component after Leclerc's accident on the reconnaissance lap and shortly before the race was stopped on lap 3 by a heavy contact between Albon and Magnussen, which led to a red flag.
After the second start, following a two-stop strategy, from soft to medium and then back to soft for the final laps, Sainz's only option was to try an unsuccessful undercut at the second stop to overtake Stroll, with whom he was in a DRS train for the entire first part of the race.
But it wasn't all bad news for Ferrari, as Mercedes seemed to be experiencing déjà vu from Saturday's sprint. The two British drivers made a strong start, but by the middle of the race, Hamilton's power was fading and he was unable to challenge for more than eighth place. On lap 59, the heavens opened for Ferrari, with the retirement of George Russell, which put Mercedes on equal terms with the Maranello team with only one driver from each team on track. Sainz improved his performance in the final two stints to finish sixth ahead of Hamilton, taking home eight points, four more than Mercedes, to leave the two teams just 20 points apart with two races remaining in the season.
While all this was going on in the top 3, Max Verstappen was undefeated and also had the Dutch anthem playing for the umpteenth time at Interlagos. Only Lando Norris, in second place, managed to put Verstappen under pressure in the early laps, but the Dutchman defended well Norris held on to second place for the rest of the race, within 3-5 seconds of Max, always keeping a good pace and with very good tyre management, showing that Mclaren is still going strong.
MAGIC ALONSO
Fernando Alonso, who started fourth and was third in the first few metres, saved the best for last, showing that at 42 he still has a thirst for victory that many would like to see.
A few laps from the end, Mexican Checo Perez appeared in the Spaniard's rear-view mirror, but the power of his Red Bull could not stop Fernando, who held Perez at 0.3 seconds and with DRS for 5 long laps, which in Fernando's eyes were "30". Checo managed to pass the Spaniard almost on the final lap, but Alonso hit back to close the podium just 53 thousandths of a second behind Perez as he crossed the finish line.
Fernando's third place finish allows Aston Martin to breathe a sigh of relief after a dip in performance in the second half of the season, and is the Spaniard's answer to rumours of retirement or a possible move to Red Bull.
Alonso crossed the finish line just 0.053 behind Checo Pérez./ @F1
