06 March 2023 , 10:22
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Fernando Alonso said he "didn't like" the fact Lewis Hamilton was fighting back as they tussled on track during the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Aston Martin lived up to the pre-season hype in the first race of 2023, upsetting the balance of power that has become established at the top of Formula 1. Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll had the fastest cars on the track, other than the two runaway Red Bulls.
So when Alonso engaged in a dogfight with his old rival Hamilton, the Spaniard had the upper hand. Inevitably, the 41-year-old was able to get past the Mercedes and pushed on to finish in third place.
To Hamilton's credit, despite fighting a losing battle, he didn't give up easily. He forced his former McLaren team-mate to work hard to make the overtake stick and moved back past the first time – only truly accepting defeat after Alonso's second pass.
The Spaniard very much enjoyed that particular duel. He said after the race: "It was great, a lot of respect between us. It's never the same when you fight against Lewis, one of the legends of our sport, and you know he can do something unexpected and use his talent.
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"He got me in Turn Four, I was in front of him but he managed to pass me there." Alonso also joked: "That was a little bit of a surprise and I didn't like it so I tried in another place and it worked, and I had more pace so I could pull away."
Fernando Alonso finished on the podium in Bahrain (Getty Images)That battle came after Alonso had already moved past the other Mercedes, driven by George Russell. And there was another notable one to come later, when he passed Carlos Sainz to take third place and said over team radio as he moved past his fellow Spaniard: "Yes! Bye bye!"
The overtaking spots were strange, but Alonso explained that he had to pick different places to make a move as his car was lacking in straight line speed. He told reporters: "I think we were not very fast on the straight, so you normally pass into Turn 1 or into Turn 4.
"I think I passed Lewis into Turn 10 and Carlos into Turn 11. So not the normal places, because we could not match their straight-line speed. We had to make some moves in the corners before Turn 10 and Turn 11 and change trajectory, and then get the overtake done, I think to Lewis was more playing a surprise move there.
"And then with Carlos, it was close into Turn 10 again, he closed the door, and then I have a better exit into Turn 11. But, yeah, we need to see that because obviously, we will love to pass just on the main straight like everyone does."