Fernando Alonso's fight for third place in Brazilian Grand Prix it is the demonstration that the limit, when you really want, can be overcome. Even at 42 years old. Even with an inferior car and after a season that was anything but roses. Because Fernando is like that. He doesn't live with regrets as others often think. He knows that for a missed opportunity a bigger one can come. That an overtaking can lead to a counter attack, even on the last lap, at the last corner, down to the last millimetre. He tries, he will always try until the time comes to hang up his helmet for good. But until that happens he will continue to demonstrate what a driver is capable of, speaking for everyone on the track.
A podium that puts an end to Aston Martin's dark period
With the one achieved at Interlagos Fernando Alonso scored his eighth podium of the season. Perhaps the best in this first adventure in Aston Martin and not only for the way in which he arrived, that is, after a frantic duel with Perez from whom he snatched third position by just 53 thousandths on the last lap. The one in Brazil is in fact the first podium after a long and tiring fast that had lasted since August 27th due to a downward spiral of the Aston Martin after the updates to the bottom and bodywork brought to Canada. The AMR23 changes face, it is no longer the same as at the beginning of the season and everyone is affected. He goes back to the bottom, deciding to go back to the old configuration. This also requires maturity. Realize you were wrong in the first place. Before we can take a step forward.
There has been a lot of talk about Fernando recently. In this final phase of the season, with the winter break upon us, news about a possible transfer or even retirement has been circulating around the paddock. On the eve of the weekend in Brazil he had declared that they would not fight for no purpose, that the season could have been considered over but Brazil has rekindled the flame that Fernando keeps within himself, waiting for an opportunity to exploit. Those voices, Fernando couldn't wait to be able to silence them with the clearest and most shocking answer there could be: a podium.
If there is one thing for which Fernando has always stood out, it is that of always believing in second and third chances. Most of the drivers might have given up on Perez's final overtaking, but not him. By being satisfied he already knew what he would get.
“When Perez overtook me, on the penultimate lap, I told myself it was over, – said Alonso at the end of the race, but I tried to exploit his way of entering Turn 4 in my favor, and thus managed to give an important result to my team."
Fernando, 42 years old and still countingor to give
A podium that allows Fernando and the team to leave behind, at least for now, that uncertainty, those problems and the controversies of recent months that have remained in a hidden corner of Fernando's. The dark one, forged by the many disappointments collected in a career that did not do him justice. Either due to bad luck, due to a misalignment of the planets, or perhaps due to that character, that side that very often emerges in the Spaniard's declarations. The media have fun playing with him, and he with them. Because while they talk, while everyone talks about Fernando Alonso he responds by speaking for everyone.
He speaks for Perez who desperately sought the podium until the end, in a fight that still brought his smile back after a dark period. For Norris and Verstappen, future generations who run towards their goal and never settle. He speaks for Lewis, stunned in his Interlagos. For Leclerc who didn't have the opportunity to fight on the track. Also for his teammate with whom he shared a second row that no one would have believed on the eve. He speaks for everyone. And he does it on the track where there are no regrets.
With a hunger, talent and determination perhaps comparable to that of the two young drivers with whom he shared the podium and who have a long career ahead of them. In the case of Verstappen already more profitable than that of Fernando. Fernando knows he cannot aspire to a more prestigious seat. But whether he is more or less prestigious, he is not the one who makes the difference. It is the winning mentality that takes him to the top. It is his ability to stand out even with an inferior car that makes him special. Which would allow him to play for a World Cup at 42 years old. Fernando Alonso is all of this. And we can't do without it.
