Alonso on battle with Ferrari: 'Simply did not succeed at the end'

Fernando Alonso managed to end the weekend on a fairly positive note with a fourth place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Speaking to GPblog and others, the Aston Martin driver looked back on his race, in which he had a good day for the first time this weekend.

Aston Martin looked set for a very bad weekend in Baku. The circuit did not suit the car very well anyway, but the team also faced technical problems. On Friday, both Alonso and Lance Stroll struggled with the problem that the DRS was not working as required, so they had to settle for sixth and ninth places in qualifying. Alonso was then asked for his opinion on the DRS during the race.

"It worked," laughed Alonso. "I haven't been this fast on the straight all weekend. I was happy with everything. The strenght of the car is still the tyre degredation for whatever reason which seems better than the others. Unfortunately, with the safety car we were put on the hard tyres and that tyre was very robust until the end. Without the safety car I think the Ferrari's would have struggled in the lot in the first stint. So maybe Miami is a better chance for us."

Alonso competing with the Ferraris in Baku

Alonso's race was mainly focused on the Ferraris. Just after the safety car went in, Alonso overtook his compatriot Carlos Sainz with a bold move in a tight corner. Alonso then went on to battle Charles Leclerc for the final podium spot, but the Monegasque still managed to keep Alonso behind.

"I had a lot of grip on the restart ," Alonso explained his attack on Sainz. "I could have had at turn three already, but it was into turn four. I don't know, no clear explanation, the car was working pretty well today. But it was crucial, because then overtaking a Ferrari is never really easy. That overtake put me in a train with Charles and it was easier, the race, after that.

When you get within one second, it is just enough with the amount of downforce you lose to be in a risky situation of locking up a tyre or touching the wall. I had two or three moments when I was that close to Charles, so I said I back off a little bit and in the last few laps I try to get close again. He had a little bit at hand and it was not possible," the Spaniard added.