Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso says finishing third and only losing three points to title rival Sebastian Vettel at the US Grand Prix was “like a victory” for him.
The Spaniard and his Ferrari team endured a difficult race in Texas, but fought hard to move up from seventh to claim a podium finish and remains just 13 points behind Vettel heading into the Brazilian Grand Prix.
“Finishing on Sunday afternoon losing only three points was like a victory for us but we need to think of Brazil [and] take all the opportunities we can have there,” Alonso said.
He added: “Obviously we had a tough weekend; so many difficulties. We were not competitive, we did not have the pace, and Red Bull were very quick and everything was smooth for them.”
However, Ferrari will have gained some hope from Red Bull’s struggles with Mark Webber’s car, as he was forced to retire with an alternator problem. It is the third time this season a Red Bull car has had an alternator issue.
“Today we saw Webber’s retirement: sometimes it is the water, sometimes the Kers, sometimes the alternator but always in that car, so maybe one day it happens in the other car and we need to be ready,” Alonso said.
The Brazilian GP takes place on November 25.