Fernando Alonso credits ‘phenomenal’ car after strong showing in Sao Paulo for Aston Martin

After a difficult time of it in Mexico City, Aston Martin bounced back strongly in Brazil as Fernando Alonso finished 12th at Interlagos, just missing out on a rare chance to score points.

The Spaniard showed all his experience in the wet on Saturday to qualify inside the top 10 for the first time all season, and managed to remain up the order in the first stint of the race in what he called a “phenomenal” car.

Even after he started to drop backwards, Alonso was able to fight with the cars around him, which included some of the more typical front runners – the Aston Martin man overtaking Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari on merit at one point.

While his drive did not yield any points, it still left Alonso in a buoyant mood post-race.

“I think it was the best race for the car feeling today,” he said. “The car was phenomenal in the corners and we were battling with the Ferraris at one point.

“Even the last five laps on the inters, we were in the mix with the two Mercedes, one lap down, but with the Mercedes. Taking into account how much we lose on the straights, that means probably today we could have been maybe one second faster than them per lap. As I said the car was phenomenal.”

While Alonso’s ‘one second faster’ comment seemed tongue in cheek, what was clear was how much quicker the AMR26 was in Brazil than it has been for much of the season.

His drive was also a good response to Mexico City, where the team had to retire both cars early on with power unit problems, and Alonso’s Sao Paulo performance saw him beat both Alpines, both Williams cars and the two Haas drivers to the flag on merit.

Lance Stroll, however, did not make the end of the race – retiring again with an ERS issue for his eighth DNF in the last 10 Grands Prix.

But Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack was upbeat in the wake of the race, choosing to look at the weekend as a whole.

“Mixed fortunes for us today,” he explained. “A strong drive from Fernando to finish P12 and Lance unfortunately retiring with a battery issue.

“Overall we must be satisfied with the outcome of the weekend as we were ahead of competitors with faster cars in Qualifying and race.”

“We always look forward to racing here in Sao Paulo – an iconic track with a passionate crowd – so it was great to deliver a strong performance in front of the Brazilian fans.”

Aston Martin remain 10th in the standings, five points adrift of Williams.

Alonso last scored in Malaysia, but Aston Martin are seemingly heading in the right direction on pace, even if reliablity remains an Achilles’ heel.