Fernando Alonso Dedicates 'Action Of The Year' Award To Sergio Perez After Epic Last Lap Battle In Brazil
The FIA held its year-end prize giving ceremony — yes, "prize giving" — and there was a nice moment where F1 legend and Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso dedicated his award to Red Bull's Sergio Perez.
It makes sense. He quite literally could not have won it without him.
Alonso was called onstage to accept the award for "Action of the Year." That's so incredibly vague I really have no clue what the criteria is. I guess it could be anything that happened on track that might make you say, "Damn, how about that action."
Considering 2023 was far from the most interesting F1 season on record, there was still an abundance of exciting moments to choose from.
The winner — quite rightfully — was the incredible battle between Alonso and Perez in the final laps of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Perez overtook Alonso with a few laps remaining, only for the Spaniard to return the favor on the final lap. They raced toward the finish line and arrived for an honest-to-goodness photo finish for the final spot on the podium.
For some reason, despite the obvious involvement of both drivers, Alonso was the only one given the award. Probably because he came out on top. Fortunately, he took a moment to acknowledge Perez's stellar driving in that battle as well.
"A big thanks for voting me for the action of the year regarding my battle with Sergio in Brazil. I also want to thank and share this award with Sergio," Alonso said. "Any battle on track needs the collaboration of two. I think this should be an example not only for present, but also for future generations where we must promote clean driving without any contact between cars.
"So hopefully see you next year with more action on track."
Hopefully, we see Aston Martin back toward the front of the field because even at 42 years old, Fernando Alonso is one of the most exciting drivers on the grid.
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