Alonso pushed through agonizing pain to complete Sao Paulo GP

Fernando Alonso braved both physical agony and mechanical challenges in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with little to show for his efforts and determination at the end of the day.

The Aston Martin driver fought to reach the bitter end of the 69-lap race despite bouncing over Interlagos' freshly resurfaced, notoriously bumpy track and enduring severe back pain from the vibrations.

But from the outset, Alonso was adamant that he wouldn't give up — especially after the hard work his mechanics had poured into preparing his car following a crash in qualifying just earlier hours.

Early on, the Spaniard's discomfort was evident as he struggled with both the handling and braking of his AMR24.

“I will finish the race for the mechanics,” Alonso told his race engineer over the team radio during the race, his voice edged with strain. “They did a very good job today. But my back is hurting, man. “This bouncing is not normal.”

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Compounding his physical woes, a misbehaving car suffering from handling and braking issues added to his order. Yet throwing in the towel was never an option for the 43-year-old.

“There was a lot of bouncing, a lot of porpoising in the second half of the race,” he said. “I don't know why, but it was a tough race. We were out of the points.

“I think in any other circumstances, probably I would have stopped. But the mechanics did an incredible job before the race to put the car ready on the grid, so I had to finish it for them.”

Last Sunday's race also capped a grueling week for Alonso, who came into the event already on the back foot, having flown back to Europe after the Mexico City Grand Prix to recover from an intestinal infection, finally arriving in Brazil at the last minute.

“It was painful, for sure,” he admitted. “The lead-up to this race, it was a lot of preparation from my side, a lot of checks, a lot of work, a lot of physio and doctors in order to come here in Brazil.

“So it was a lot of effort from everybody: the same effort as the mechanics put today.”

But his determination came not just from loyalty to his crew, but also from a perspective shaped by recent events beyond the track in his home country of Spain. .

“It was not comfortable in the car,” he said. “But there are people worse than me, also in Valencia, we have these terrible images. And people struggling. So I had to struggle a couple of laps for everybody.”

Elaborating on his car's brake issues, Alonso explained how each restart would reset the brake balance, shifting the braking force dangerously rearward and making it feel like he was, in his own words, “braking with a hand brake.”

“I think Lance had the brake problem in the formation lap, and I had the brake issue after all the restarts, where all the brake balance goes completely rearwards,” he said. “It was like braking with a hand brake.

“So all in all it was a nightmare out there. “We need to get better for the next three.”

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