Fernando Alonso explained how his sudden reduction in speed ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix stemmed from an intent to protect his position using DRS.
The Aston Martin driver exited the pits for the second and final time with Hamilton right on his tail approaching the downhill, left-handed Turn 5 before the back straight.
However, Alonso gradually moved over towards the right-hand side of the circuit and then slowed, prompting Hamilton to radio in that he had been brake-tested by his rival.
Although the stewards investigated Alonso for erratic driving, the Spaniard was cleared and eventually finished the 58-lap race two spots ahead of Hamilton in seventh place.
Following the incident, Hamilton had overhauled Alonso with the aid of DRS, only for the latter to return the favour along the next straight to preserve his advantage.
Asked to clarify his version of events, Alonso said: “Lewis is obviously very clever and understands the sport really good and has a lot of experience but I have more.”
Hamilton proceeded to double down on his comments post-race, stating: “I was doing 180 miles an hour and the guy all of a sudden slowed down massively.”
Alonso admits that he wasn’t entirely shocked by Hamilton’s protests and also referenced how the episode drew similarities to the pair’s battle in Canada 10 years ago.
When asked whether he was surprised by his ex-McLaren team-mate’s remarks over the radio, Alonso replied: “Yes and no.
“We did the same in Canada in 2012 [2013], so 11 [10] years after that episode, we tried to give the DRS to the other guy, braking for Turn 5 but in both cases I won so it is okay.”
Alonso was heard voicing complaints of his own about Aston Martin’s lack of straight-line speed leaving him vulnerable in the middle sector of the Yas Marina Circuit.
“We need a lot more pace to really overtake, we were a little bit slow on the straights,” he issued. “We noticed yesterday, but obviously that was the best compromise for us in terms of total lap time.
“It’s something that has been our weakness all throughout the season, the top speed and something we will work [on] for next year’s car.”
Aston Martin’s problems were exacerbated by tyre degradation being worse than expected, resulting in Alonso being the first driver in the field to make a scheduled stop.
“We expect it [tyre wear] to be on the high side, but it was probably a bit higher than expectations,” he highlighted. “So by Lap 16 or something like that we made the first stop and we knew that the race was long from that point.
“But, at the end, I think the pace was only good for seventh or eighth. As I said yesterday, the lap in the qualifying was very good for the position, but the pace was a concern as we saw today. We were just enough to beat AlphaTauri, so that is not enough.”
Alonso’s overtake on Yuki Tsunoda for seventh in the closing laps ensured that he capitalised on Carlos Sainz’s failure to score to finish fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.
However, the Aston Martin driver admits that he initially suspected Charles Leclerc had pipped him to the position when he saw the Ferrari racer running up in second place.
“When I saw Leclerc P2 on the big screen I thought he was just in front, but apparently we tied on points and I had more third places,” Alonso said.
“It’s completely unexpected, completely unreal to be fourth in the championship.
“As I said on Thursday, 2012 and this season, for me, are the best in my career. And a position that I could never imagine at the beginning of the year or with the car performance we had.”
