Max Verstappen may have won a record-extending 17th race of 2023 in Brazil, but it was a certain Spaniard who stole the show. Fernando Alonso waited 10 years to get back on the podium at the Brazilian GP, and boy did he do it in style. The weekend was a mix of seizing opportunities, qualifying excellence, a defensive masterclass, and lots of tire management. And this being Interlagos, it gave Alonso plenty of opportunities to pull out his classic overtakes, one of which secured the podium for him. But his tactical brilliance played just as big a role in getting the result he wanted.

Last season, the Brazilian GP was a Mercedes weekend. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell looked strong throughout, and when the opportunity presented itself, the team took its first win in almost a year. A year later, though, the W14 was no match for its usual rivals, and Alonso took advantage of that.

Fernando Alonso knew who he was fighting at the Brazilian GP

After Alonso qualified in P4 for the race, Hamilton overtook him on the initial start to take P3. After an early Red Flag, the race restarted, and Alonso made a great move on Hamilton to claim P3. From there on, he pretty much left the W14 in his rearview mirror. With Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll making light work of Geroge Russell as well, it was clear that Mercedes’ pace was nowhere compared to Aston Martin’s. That’s where Alonso and Aston’s tactical brilliance came in.

After Alonso got past Hamilton, it was only a matter of time before it was Sergio Perez chasing him. The RB19 is the fastest car on the grid, especially with its superior straight-line and slow-corner speed. When Perez was catching Alonso, his engineer asked him, “Happy with aero balance?” Aerodynamic balance is the distribution of downforce between the front and rear axles of an F1 car. Alonso knew he’d need the setup to defend from Perez, but he also knew that he could go all out and still stay ahead of Hamilton. 

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Alonso replied, “Yeah, happy. No problem with Hamilton. He won’t race me,” to which his engineer responded, “Yeah, copy mate. Yeah, agreed. Perez is the race now.” Following that was a fight to the line between Perez and Alonso for the final podium place. In the closing stages of the race, Perez got much closer to Alonso, but with his defensive brilliance, he managed to keep the Mexican at bay. With two laps to go, though, Perez overtook Alonso, but on the final lap, he left the door wide open and Alonso retook P3. They crossed the line separated by 0.053s.

In a Show of Mutual Respect, Fernando Alonso & Sergio Perez Share Heartwarming Moment After Final Lap Thriller

As soon as Alonso passed Hamilton, he knew he wasn’t racing him. Perez was always going to be his rival for P3. He knew that and Aston Martin knew that, and they saw it coming from a mile away. After the race, Alonso’s engineer even took a dig at Hamilton & Co.

Fernando Alonso & Co. may not have Mercedes to worry about

Coming into the weekend, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff was “cautiously optimistic” about the team’s chances in Interlagos. With how last season’s Brazilian GP played out, who could blame him? But he couldn’t have been more wrong. Hasn’t that been the story of Mercedes’ season? They expect their car to do one thing, but it does the opposite. The W14 has been Mercedes’ fiercest rival this year, and now, it’s causing the team’s downfall. At least for Aston Martin.

Alonso must’ve felt the Mercedes drivers would be his main competitors this weekend. While that looked the case on Friday during qualifying, Sunday was completely different. Not only did Hamilton finish behind Alonso, but he also finished behind Stroll. From starting in P5 and P8, Mercedes finished with a P8 and DNF. After his thrilling fight with Perez, Alonso asked, “What happened to Mercedes?” His engineer took a dig at Mercedes and replied, “They’re dying.”

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Do you think Lewis Hamilton & Co. can bounce back in the last two races? Or will Fernando Alonso prove too strong for them once again?