Fernando Alonso's podium celebrations go awry as F1 star suffers near miss

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Alonso's podium celebrations go awry as F1 star suffers near miss

The veteran was delighted with his superb third-place finish at Interlagos

Anna Malyon

Tuesday 7 November 2023 12:57 Updated: 17:29

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Fernando Alonso's podium celebrations at the Brazilian Grand Prix took an unexpected turn when the traditional champagne bottle almost fell to the ground.

The Aston Martin driver secured another podium finish, his eighth of the season, after a thrilling final lap battle that had him going wheel-to-wheel with Sergio Perez.

After a dramatic photo finish ending, Alonso was in high spirits, expressing his happiness on the podium and during post-race interviews.

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However, in the midst of his excitement, following tradition, Alonso attempted to drop his champagne to his race engineers, but it accidentally hit the floor.

Yet to the delight of the Aston Martin team, one of the engineers shouted "It's not broken!" as they all took turns taking a sip.

Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez's battled for third place in Brazil

Tradition. ?#BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/qjmdVuOAxW
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) November 6, 2023

Aston Martin revival

Aston Martin enjoyed a series of good results at the beginning of the 2023 season but then started to drop down the pack in the second half of the campaign.

Upgrades introduced during the United States Grand Prix proved unsuccessful, leading the team to revert to the Qatar specification.

And their struggles may have come to an end following the removal of these upgrades, with Alonso describing this podium finish as "phenomenal."

"It was like 30 laps that I had the pressure from Checo," said Alonso. "When he passed me with two laps to the end, I thought 'ok, the podium is not possible anymore'.

"He braked too late into Turn 1 and I went for it into Turn 4. This is a phenomenal result for the team. We've been struggling for a couple of months, especially the last two events with two retirements, so this podium is for them, for everyone in the factory.

Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen finished on the podium at Interlagos

"We kept fighting until the last lap."

While Aston Martin found success in Sao Paulo, Alonso is looking ahead to the future and hopeful that these performances continue.

"We are still learning about the car," Alonso added. "These cars are so complex aerodynamically so we have been experimenting to find the direction for next year, without forgetting this year.

"So happy for the result, now to Vegas."

Looking ahead to the next race in Las Vegas, Aston Martin will be eager for more podium finishes, albeit without more champagne mishaps on the rostrum.