Alonso’s secret to Perez-beating F1 podium drive reflects his genius

Aston Martin’s Alonso rolled back the years with a stunning drive to come out on top of a thrilling late tussle with Perez for the final spot on the podium behind Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. 

The two-time world champion had kept Perez at bay for much of the final stint but appeared to have missed out on third when the Red Bull driver snatched the position on the penultimate lap.

But Alonso brilliantly fought back and managed to re-pass Perez’s superior Red Bull on the last lap to take an impressive and well-deserved podium. 

After the race, Alonso revealed that some clever driving and precise car placement was the secret to his masterful defensive drive against Perez. 

“Being the car in front you have a little bit of an advantage in terms of grip in the last three corners,” the 42-year-old Spaniard explained. 

“So I was just making sure not to make any mistakes in those three corners, because if not, Checo would be too close. I was using the energy also on the straights just to make sure there was no opportunity for Checo.

“And then with the lines, we were just changing lines sometimes. I didn’t always want to be on the same line, if possible. If he goes on the inside, I was from time to time on the inside, from time to time on the outside.

“So it was not a clear direction for him to really change the racing line and to really take the opportunity for some clean air. I was just trying to get some turbulence to his front nose.”

Alonso admitted he thought his podium was gone after Perez dived down the inside of his Aston Martin at Turn 1 with just two laps remaining. 

One lap later, Alonso got his revenge, sweeping around the outside of Perez to regain the position into Turn 4, before holding off the faster Red Bull on the long drag up the hill the finish line.

The pair were separated by just 0.053s in a dramatic photo-finish. 

"For me, it was like 30 laps that I had the pressure from Checo but when he passed me two laps to the end, I thought: 'Okay, this is gone, the podium is not possible anymore,” Alonso said. 

"But he braked a bit late into [Turn] 1 and I said : 'Okay, I go for it into [Turn] 4.'