Fernando Alonso has explained how a combination of altered driving lines and battery deployment helped him beat Sergio Perez to the podium in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Having notched six podiums in the first eight races, Alonso had only stood on the rostrum once in the previous 11 rounds before he was running in third place at Interlagos.
However, the Spaniard began to come under increased pressure from Perez in a faster Red Bull car, which comfortably prevailed victorious in the hands of Max Verstappen.
Although Perez made an overtake stick into Turn 1 on the penultimate lap, Alonso took advantage of the Mexican’s braking mishap into the same corner on the final tour to seize the position before Descida do Lago.
Alonso emerged ahead by only 0.053, but the opportunity for the Aston Martin driver to reclaim third was only made viable by holding up Perez for several laps prior.
Asked how he remained ahead of the Red Bull, Alonso said: “I think when you run just in front of another car, you have better downforce, you have clean air and that was maybe good for maintenance of tyre management.
“And he was struggling a little bit to go into Turns 10, 11 and 12 behind another car. And that was probably the game that we were playing. Those three corners were crucial for the overtaking opportunity. And yeah, when you are the car in front, you have better grip, always.”
Alonso was continuously spotted running a deeper line into several corners, most notably at the left-handed Juncao turn which leads onto the extensive start-finish straight.
The two-time champion elucidates that he was purposely mixing up his racing lines to try and disturb Perez’s Red Bull with turbulent air, while also saving his battery charge for the straights in the first sector.
Expanding on his approach, Alonso added: “I think, as I said before, being the car in front, you have a little bit of an advantage in terms of grip in the last three corners. So I was just making sure… Not making any mistake in those three corners, because if not, Checo will be too close.
“I was using the energy also in the straights just to make sure that there was no opportunity for Checo. And yeah, in the lines, we were just changing lines sometimes. I didn’t want to be always on the same line, if possible, like this. 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 take the opportunity for some clean air. So I was just trying to get some turbulence to his front nose.”
