Fernando Alonso says he was frustrated with his Sprint Qualifying performance in Brazil after he lost crucial positions at the start and failed to recover in the 24-lap race. Alonso started from ninth place, but fell behind his midfield rivals including both Alfa Romeo drivers. Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Ocon managed to jump Alonso, whilst Lewis Hamilton also overtook the Spaniard during the middle of the race. As a result, Alonso will start Sunday's Grand Prix from 12th place. "It was frustrating because we started with the yellow tyres [Medium tyres], which was not the best for the start and the first corner," Alonso told media, including RacingNews365.com . "So we lost a lot of positions there. "After lap one we were stuck in traffic. We were very fast, but we were stuck in traffic. "We put one car on the Softs, one on the Mediums, because we were not sure. It seems it was not the right choice for me. So let's see tomorrow."
Alpine target AlphaTauri
Alpine are level on points with AlphaTauri in the battle for fifth place in the Constructors' Championship. Alan Permane, Sporting Director of Alpine, says the team must outscore AlphaTauri in Sao Paulo and believes Alonso and Ocon have a good chance of meeting that target. "We just have to beat them," said Permane. "It's as simple as that. We need to score more points to do it. So whether that's Pierre [Gasly] finishing in eighth, and us in ninth and 10th, I'll take that. "I think we can have a good shot at beating them [with] both our cars, beating them over a full length race. That's our aim."
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