Alonso recalls duel with Schumacher: 'How old were you then?'

It was as if Fernando Alonso was 25 again. Like a young, eager dog, the Spaniard kept Sergio Perez behind him, although the latter eventually overtook him for a moment. But Alonso came back accordingly, retaining a handsome third place in this race.

His performance reminded Formula 1 followers of a similar battle Alonso fought with Michael Schumacher in 2005. "I still remember it. How old were you?" he then asked directly to Lando Norris, who finished second in Sao Paulo. Max Verstappen, however, intervened: "Five!"

Alonso continued: "It was easier in 2005 because no DRS. That was probably easier. Now with the DRS things are a little bit different, and you have to play things a little bit differently as well. Tyre management is also very different from back then, where you can maybe push the tyre all the way. If in 2005 you lose the position, then it's bye-bye. You cannot recover and here I had another chance.

Alonso cited that DRS was created to improve the show. "Today [Sunday] is a good example of that because you get overtaken two laps to the end, and you have another chance, especially here in Brazil. We saw yesterday [Saturday] as well when there is overtaking done into turn one, there is a strong possibility that into turn four, someone will get it back, so that's why we see some very nice battles and races always in Interlagos."