Alonso: Perez battle proves F1 DRS benefit

Fernando Alonso has claimed the São Paulo Grand Prix and his battle with Sergio Perez showed the benefit of the Drag Reduction System in Formula 1.

DRS has been a controversial tool available to drivers since 2011 as it allows competitors to gain extra top speed through certain zones by opening a flap on the rear wing while travelling within one second of a car ahead.

The system has received criticism throughout the years with some labelling it as artificial racing.

Perez made use of the DRS to pass Alonso into the first corner late on in the race as he looked to recover to the podium after starting from ninth on the grid.

Alonso managed to stick with the Red Bull driver and used the DRS to get close to Perez into Turn 1 on the final lap before using it again into Turn 4 to re-take third place.

The Mexican had one final run on the Aston Martin with DRS as they pushed to the finish line and took the chequered flag just five-hundredths of a second down on Alonso.

Schumacher fight comparison

The defence from Alonso saw a comparison drawn to his memorable 2005 battle with Michael Schumacher at Imola.

Alonso stated that the DRS in Brazil allowed him to stay in the fight which wouldn't have been the case in the previous eras.

“If in 2005 you lose the position, then it's bye bye, you cannot recover and here I had another chance,” Alonso told media including RacingNews365.com.

“It has been introduced to provide a little bit better show and today is a good example of that because you get overtaken two laps from the end and then you have another chance, especially here in Brazil.

“We saw on Saturday as well, when there is an overtaking done into Turn 1, there is a possibility - a strong possibility - that into Turn 4 someone will get the position back.

“So that's why we see some very nice battles in races always in Interlagos. It has been a spectacular weekend, as always here in Brazil.

“Sometimes it's the weather providing this great show and I think this weekend without any rain or any weather we saw incredible races.

“So there is something in this track that always give a perfect opportunity for Formula 1 to shine and it was nice.”