Fernando Alonso bemoaned a top speed deficit of “40 or 50kph” to cars with DRS after failing to pass Felipe Massa during Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver once again extracted the absolute most from his machinery, moving up to fifth at the start, but the Mercedes-powered Williams would blast past on the main straight at the Safety Car restart.
Though the Spaniard would have the faster car, proven by his ability to stay close in the technical infield section, the inability to even use DRS to out-drag Massa down to Turn 1 meant regaining the position was impossible as he had to settle for eighth, just half a second behind over the line.
“Even with the entire deployment, with DRS and full revs they still go away from you on the straights, I think the gap today was 25kph,” the double world champion claimed, “with DRS that becomes 40 or 50kph so it’s really incredible that we managed to beat a few cars.
“It was a great fight, a great race from the start, we deserved the points it’s a shame we’re lacking in straight line speed because the pace was really competitive today, faster than the cars we were battling with, who was much quicker down the straights.
“We tried to defend our position and, in the end, these points are to be cherished, after all the points we lost due to reliability issues so I’m very happy to get a couple of points.”
While he couldn’t overtake Massa on the track, one positive from staying close to the car ahead was it helped him defend from a charging Sergio Perez in the closing laps, the two crossing the line less than a tenth of a second apart.
“For sure I had to defend more than to attack,” Alonso said of the fight with the Force India. “I was trying to pass Massa but it was the same as in Mexico.
“When Checo [Perez] was coming up I knew I could have a bit of a shield if I stayed close to Felipe to open the DRS, so we could defend the position but it’s a shame we have this incredible power deficit.”
The only positive the 36-year-old did have is that now there is just the season finale in Abu Dhabi stands between him, McLaren and Renault starting their new partnership for 2018, which it is hoped will signal a major upturn in performance.
“One race to go, another season is coming to an end, a season that, for sure, was complicated and hopefully it will be the last race in which we’ll have to race in these conditions,” he said.
