Sergio Perez seriously impressed with ‘intense’ driver during Brazilian GP

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Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez was full of praise for Aston Martin star Fernando Alonso after their intense battle in Brazil.

Perez was speaking to the press after narrowly missing out on a much-needed podium on the final lap.

There has been plenty of talk about Sergio Perez’s future at Red Bull in recent weeks.

At the start of the season, it looked like Perez would be challenging Max Verstappen for the Drivers’ Championship.

He won two of the first four races, but since then Verstappen has won every race except Singapore.

Frustratingly for Perez, he’s managed just five podium finishes since his win in Azerbaijan, less than McLaren’s Lando Norris in that same period.

Perez was on a run of five races without a podium heading to Interlagos and didn’t even survive the first lap at his home race last weekend.

Going into the race in Brazil, there was even talk of Fernando Alonso taking Perez’s seat at Red Bull.

That always seemed very unlikely, but the pair battled brilliantly yesterday for the final spot on the podium.

While Perez might have the faster car, Alonso used every ounce of his experience to secure a vital third place.

Perez hails Alonso after Brazil race

Speaking about their encounter in the final laps, Perez said: “It was quite an intense battle. We tried everything. Unfortunately, we didn’t succeed on that, but it was well deserved for Fernando.

“I think we had a great fight, very fair and to the limit. I think this is something that a lot of drivers can learn from because what we did, the way we fought today, is how it should be done.

“I’m in the wrong side, I end up losing but it’s fine because it was a great fight.

“We’ve seen in the last couple of races that the pace has been there, that we’ve been really strong, and for some reason or another we haven’t been able to get the final end result, but I just know that it’s a matter of time.”

Martin Brundle praised Perez’s overtaking in Brazil and he did get the better of Alonso on the penultimate lap.

But the Aston Martin’s straight-line speed and the Mexican getting slightly out of shape going into turn one on the final lap was all the 42-year-old needed to retake third.

Perez hasn’t almost certainly done enough to keep his seat at Red Bull for 2024, although the team are unlikely to hesitate to make a change next year if his form doesn’t improve.

The likes of Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon can all attest to Helmut Marko and Christian Horner doing what’s best for Red Bull no matter what.