17th race win of the season, another long-standing record in the bag. Now it’s just a question of how many races can Max Verstappen win in the current season. He looks unstoppable at the moment with no challenger in sight. In fact, the Dutchman is so far ahead that he is bothered by no one, which is making him his biggest rival. How? Well, in his own words, the Red Bull man ended his race himself because of the breathtaking battle between Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso.

The battle spanned for more than half of the race. The battle peaked in the last two laps and saw its conclusion right at the chequered flag. The same battle that engrossed everyone watching the Brazilian GP also immersed Verstappen, which could’ve put his race to an early end.

How the engrossing Brazilian GP battle between Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso could’ve ended the race of Max Verstappen a little earlier than expected

Perez put his head down and chased down Fernando Alonso throughout most of the race. Toward the very end, the Mexican was right on the Spaniard’s tail. The excitement began when Perez overtook Alonso in the second to last lap to put him on the final podium place. However, a determined Alonso was not letting his first chance at a podium since Zandvoort slide. The Spaniard kept his cool, retook his position, and crossed the line 0.053 seconds ahead of Perez for an exciting photo finish for the P3 spot.

This battle kept everyone on the edge of their seat as one of the most exciting pieces of action during the entire race. So much so that even decided the attention of Verstappen during the race. The Dutchman started watching the battle on the big screen while cruising in the front. In fact, he got so engrossed that he told Viaplay that he almost went straight in turn four which would’ve surely ended his race.

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Talk about some enthralling racing that even captured the attention of the driver still in the race. It was definitely a hard-fought race and clean too, which was showcased by the comments of both the drivers in the post-race interviews.

Nothing but respect between Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso after the eventful Brazilian GP

The two F1 veterans fought hard till the very end. However, at no point during their battle, there were any maneuvers by either driver that could be classified as dirty racing. The hard-fought action-packed duel between the two was full of respect too. This is exactly what the two communicated during their post-race interview before topping it off with a hug.

In a post-race interview, Alonso said, “Very aggressive moves, a lot of respect, and I’m happy it was with Checo, and we could put on a good show.”

Perez echoed the comments and said, “It was a great fight with Fernando. I don’t think with a lot of drivers you can do these types of maneuvers. It was really tight from beginning to end, and it was super enjoyable.”

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Now with Aston Martin also in the mix, we hope to see more racing action in the last two races of the seasons.