Max Verstappen won his 17th race of 2023 last weekend. Lando Norris scored his 7th podium of a season, crossing the line eight seconds behind the Dutchman. While they were the protagonists for the race win, there was one driver who stood above all at the Brazilian GP. That was Fernando Alonso. After starting the season as Verstappen’s closest competitor, he ended the Brazilian GP as Verstappen’s teammate’s closest rival. In that, he got the better of Sergio Perez in a last-lap thriller. But Verstappen ensured the Spaniard went from thrilled to uncomfortable within seconds.

Verstappen and Norris have shared the podium quite often this season. What that means is that every time Norris has finished in the top three, Verstappen is on the top step. But the Brazilian GP was the first time they had Fernando Alonso for company. Their usual banter is what had Alonso wanting to maybe disappear.

Fernando Alonso may have rethought his decision to fight for P3

The battle for the lead in Brazil (like in almost every other race in 2023) was not nearly as entertaining as the battle for P3. With Verstappen and Norris well clear of the field, Alonso’s battle against Sergio Perez for the final podium place was absolutely thrilling. In the dying stages of the race, Perez caught up to the back of his Aston Martin. The two-time champion had to deploy his Spanish Minister of Defence moves to keep the Red Bull at bay, and he did precisely that.

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With two laps to go, though, the RB19’s superior straight-line speed, coupled with DRS, allowed Perez to overtake Alonso. But in the final lap, Perez left the door wide open and Alonso took it to reclaim P3. Their fight continued till they crossed the finish line, separated by just 0.053s. In light of his defensive masterclass to keep Perez behind for most of the race, Alonso was asked, “A bit of a nostalgia question. I wanted you to compare this drive today—the defensive driving stuff—with 2005 in Imola against Michael Schumacher.”

The first thing also did was turn to Norris and ask, “How old were you?” to which he replied, “Five.” Verstappen saw the opportunity to tease Norris and make Alonso uncomfortable and took it, joking, “He was still getting breastfed.” That caught Alonso a little off-guard, but he just laughed it off and gave his answer. “It was easier in 2005 because no DRS. So, yeah. That was probably easier. Now, with DRS, things are a little bit different and you have to play things a little bit differently as well.”

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Although Alonso may have questioned his choices to sit through Verstappen and Norris’ banter, one thing he was glad about was racing Perez.

Alonso was happy it was Perez he fought against

After an early Red Flag during the race, Alonso restarted the Brazilian GP from P4, with Lewis Hamilton in P3. While Verstappen and Norris took off following the restart, Alonso made a classic Alonso move on Hamilton to take P3. He left the slow Mercedes in his rearview mirror but had Perez for company just a while later. After his intense battle with the Mexican, Alonso wasn’t just happy with the outcome, but also with who he was fighting.

In a post-race interview, he said, “It was intense. For me, it was a little bit easier until the last five laps. I thought I had everything under control but then, when I started pushing five laps to the end, he seemed closer. So, I didn’t understand where his pace was coming from. Two laps before the chequered flag, he overtook me. I thought everything was done by that moment but in the last lap, I had another chance and I went for it. And very close to the line. Very aggressive moves, a lot of respect, and I’m happy it was with Checo, and we could put on a good show.” 

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How do you think Fernando Alonso handled the question following Max Verstappen’s teasing?