Alonso 'tempted' by late lunge on Verstappen for win

Fernando Alonso admitted that he had considered making a late move on Max Verstappen to snatch victory in the closing minutes of the rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Aston Martin started the race from fifth on the grid, but as rain drops started to fall he got a flier when the lights went out and he made short work os George Russell and Alex Albon who were ahead of him on the second row.

That put him up to third behind Verstappen and Lando Norris, but the rain forced an early round of pit stops for intermediate tyres dropping Alonso down to seventh.

By the time that a safety car for Logan Sargeant crashing out heralded a second round of pit stops, Alonso was able to take advantage and return to P3, now behind Verstappen and his Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez.

Alonso was irked to lose a position to Carlos Sainz during the second round of scheduled stops and quickly went on the offense to re-take his place on the podium, and also snapped up the bonus point for fastest lap for good measure.

But just when it seemed that the result was decided, the heavens opened for a second with eight laps to go. Before the race was red flagged, Perez slid off at turn 1 promoting Alonso to second for the rolling restart.

• Read also: Verstappen equals Vettel's record amid Dutch GP downpour

It left Alonso wondering whether to play safe for a valuable second place ahead of the man who replaced him at Alpine, Pierre Gasly, or to push things and go for the win.

"I did think about trying the move on the last restart," he told the media in parc ferme. However the idea of how that would go down with the massed ranks of Verstappen fans in the grandstand made him thing twice.

"I thought maybe I cannot exit the circuit, so I stayed calm in second," he admitted, happy to take his best result since he was runner-up in the Canadian GP in June. "We will win a race soon, we are getting closer."

It had been a high-adrenalin afternoon for everyone, with the waves of showers causing all sorts of disruption. It looked like the 42-year-old had loved every minute of the frenetic action.

"It was a very, very intense race with the beginning in wet conditions," he agreed. "We were very fast, and we stopped [the first time] maybe one lap too late - but the same as the leaders.

"The car was flying today, very competitive, very easy to drive. In these conditions, you need a car that you can trust," he noted. "And I did trust the car a lot today, so I enjoyed it."

As one of the newer races on the modern calendar, Alonso said he thought he would never have the opportunity to stand on the podium in the Netherlands.

"I thought I would never experience a Zandvoort podium because I was not in a position to think about that," he acknowledged. "Today is going to be very special," he said, adding: "The energy in Zandvoort is very unique."

Alonso's team mate Lance Stroll was less fortunate, starting the race from 11th which is where he finished two and a half hours later, just outside the points.

The 19 points notched up by Alonso this week means Aston Martin remain third in the constructors championship having opened up a slight gap of 14 points over Ferrari

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