Alonso praises Aston Martin pace in wet Sao Paulo race

Fernando Alonso described the performance of his Aston Martin in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as phenomenal, saying the car was competitive enough to fight with Ferrari and Mercedes cars despite a lack of straight-line speed from the Honda engine.

Alonso qualified eighth in the wet at Interlagos, the best grid position of the season for Aston Martin, but finished 12th, just outside the points. He passed Lewis Hamilton around the outside on pure pace during the intermediate-tyre spells, though Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen and Mercedes all got by him later in the race.

Reflecting on the weekend, Alonso said the car was better in the rain than in the dry and was a good surprise throughout the race. He added that the team now knows what it needs to improve ahead of the remaining rounds.