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Fernando Alonso has said defending from Sergio Perez during the Sao Paulo GP was more difficult than keeping Michael Schumacher at bay in the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix.
Alonso won out in a thrilling battle with Perez in Brazil, beating the Red Bull driver to third by just 0.053s.
The pair had run nose to tail for much of the final stint of the race and swapped positions twice in the final two laps.
Perez edged ahead as they started the penultimate lap before defending into Turn 4 as Alonso used DRS to counterattack.
A lap later, the Spaniard forced his rival defensive into the opening corner, compromising him through the complex that followed.
It enabled the Aston Martin driver to get a run and sweep back through into third as they reached Turn 4.
However, the Red Bull driver didn’t give up and attacked again, using the slipstream and DRS out of the final corner to draw alongside.
The pair flashed across the line side-by-side, split by just 0.053s in Alonso’s favour.
It was a thrilling conclusion and reminiscent of the 2005 San Marina Grand Prix where Alonso kept Schumacher at bay to claim victory.
“It was easier in 2005,” Alonso recounted.
“No DRS, so that was probably a bit easier. Now, with the DRS, it seems a little bit different and you have to play things a little bit different as well.
“Tyre management is also very different than back then, where you can maybe push the tyre all the way.”
That battle was thrilling for multiple reasons as in many regards it symbolised a changing of the guard; the end of Schumacher’s era and the arrival of a new generation in Alonso.
While DRS made his job of defending more difficult in Brazil on Sunday, it also opened up the possibility of countering Perez and reclaiming the place.
“If, in 2005, you lost the position then it’s bye-bye, you cannot recover. Here, I had another chance.
“I mean, it [DRS] has been introduced to provide a little bit better show and today is a good example of that because you get overtaken two laps to the end and you have another chance.”
While keeping Perez behind was important, Alonso suggested the most important moment of his race came on the opening lap.
Starting on the second row, the Spaniard had a poor getaway and fell behind Lewis Hamilton.
However, he reclaimed that spot at Turn 4, a move that ultimately left him in a position to contend with Perez later on.
“Obviously, the last lap, overtaking him, it was quite a lot of commitment because we were both just all or nothing in a few corners,” Alonso recounted of his late-race scrap.
“But I think, to be honest, the most important overtake of the race has been Hamilton into Turn 4 on Lap 1.
“That changed my race.
“If I start P4 and I have to fight with Hamilton in the first stint, even if I can eventually get in front by Lap 10 or whatever, my tyres will never be in a condition to stand the first stint and then have a tyre advantage to Checo in the second stint and third stint.
“For me, there is one crucial moment of my race and it’s Lap 1 into Turn 4 with Hamilton.”
