Alonso and his funny message to “Checo” Pérez: “Don't put that pressure on me because I'm older now”

One of The most intense duels that took place during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix was the one between Fernando Alonso and Sergio “Checo” Pérezin which the experienced Spaniard finally ended up taking third place in the test led, once again by the already Formula 1 champion in 2023, Max Verstappen.

During a good part of the race that took place this Sunday in Interlagos “Checo” Pérez was on the lookout for the Aston Martin driven by Fernando Alonso who, after crossing the finish line, managed to neutralize the threat. of the Mexican who, although he could not get on the podium, achieved a favorable result in his aspirations of securing the F1 runner-up position. for Red Bull.

“I told “Checo” not to put that pressure on me because I’m older now.The Spaniard joked that he had not been on a Formula 1 podium since October 27 at the Dutch Grand Prix when he finished second behind Max Verstappen. It is the eighth podium for the experienced Spaniard in this 2023 season.

“For me it has been about thirty laps with “Checo” Pérez behind, two laps from the end of the race I thought it was not possible, but I went for it with everything when I saw that he passed in the last corner”recognized the Spaniard in relation to the moment in which he marked the difference with the Mexican to finish in third place.

“When “Checo” overtook me with two laps to go I said to myself ‘well, fourth position is what it is, let’s go for it’. I was resigned because I went wide in turn 6, but he went a little long in turn 1 and gave me the opportunity to get closer in turns 2 and 3 and then at the end I didn’t know if there was one lap or two left. . When I saw the flag at four it also took me a little by surprise”he recalled.

“From the outside I think it looked more exciting than from the inside, where it seemed like I had everything under control but that wasn’t the case.”Fernando Alonso revealed that he added the 106th podium in his career in Formula 1, which equaled the legendary Frenchman Alain Prost in the fourth place of drivers with the most podiums in the history of the competition.

The “tightest” finish of his career

The Spaniard Fernando Alonso recognized after achieving third place in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix that the dispute he had with Sergio “Checo” Pérez is certainly in the first place of the closest finishes in his career in Formula 1.

“It was the tightest race, without a doubt”recognized the pilot of the Aston Martin team, who added: “It was a very intense race, we didn’t have time to relax”.

Now the Spaniard hopes that this third place will serve as a boost for Aston Martin in this season finale with the races in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi remaining. “We have had quite a difficult few months, but we will continue fighting until the last lap”he sentenced.

Keep reading:
– Sergio “Checo” Pérez achieved fourth place in the Brazilian Grand Prix and has a significant advantage over Lewis Hamilton in the fight for the F1 runner-up position.
– Christian Horner compared “Checo” Pérez to the Phoenix: “He always manages to get up”
– Sergio “Checo” Pérez deals a hard blow to journalism: “It is difficult for me to understand the responsibility of journalists”