One of the highlights of the Hungarian GP was the battle that raged between Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton towards the closing stages of the race. Many feel that this defense cost Lewis the win which not only helped Alonso’s teammate Esteban Ocon clinch his maiden victory, it also reduced the damage to Max Verstappen’s championship hopes by preventing Lewis from widening the gap by a further seven points. Alonso has now delved into it all while speaking to Ziggo Sport Link to poll: https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugydh1bxqmzz08uR7w94AaABCQ 0:00 - Alonso Describes Strong Defense Against “Complaining” Hamilton 1:44 - Fast Feed I'm your host Dillon Shelley and first up on Formula World: Alonso Describes Strong Defense Against “Complaining” Hamilton Alonso began by explaining that his defensive drive was vital for Esteban’s race “I tried, I tried my best. It was hard to keep Lewis behind but it was important for Esteban [Ocon] in order to win the race because Hamilton was coming very quickly” He also pointed out how it was significant for championship contender Max as well “Also, yeah it was important for Max [Verstappen]. So, I tried my best” He was then asked if he enjoyed battling Hamilton “No! No! I didn't enjoy it. I was super stressed because the pace advantage at that moment it was huge for Lewis and every lap that we kept him behind, it was like a small miracle and at the end [I finished in the] top five” He then addressed the luck factor that allowed Alpine to win the race “I'm happy. It's the best result of the year for me. Obviously for the team, a victory is amazing. He [Ocon] was lucky you know with the first start and things like that but we've been unlucky all the races and we didn't say sorry so we will not say sorry now to be lucky” He signed off by responding to Lewis’ radio messages that his defense was unfair “He's always always complaining. I don't know. I didn't hear anything from the FIA. So, I guess it was okay” Fast Feed “Formula 1 Grand Prix winner, it’s unbelievable and it definitely has not sunk in yet” for Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and F1’s 111th different race winner [F1 TV] “There were a lot of decisions to make and the team executed that really well along with the crew who did a mega pit-stop, which was crucial to staying in front of Sebastian [Vettel]”, he pointed out “What a fight from Fernando too, his amazing teamwork at the end played a huge part in the win and it was great to share the moment with him”, Ocon surmised Alpine’s Executive Director, Marcin Budkowski “knew Lewis [Hamilton] would be a threat in the last laps, but [they] must pay huge credit to Fernando for fighting hard to defend against him” “This helped a lot to protect Esteban’s position. We’ve seen crazy races in the past and it’s about being there to capitalise on any opportunity and today we did just that”, Marcin added Red Bull’s Max Verstappen exclaimed “Taken out again by a Mercedes... This is not what you want. [He] missed the whole side of [his] car, the floor was damaged as well” [Sky Sports] “It was almost impossible to drive, to be honest. [He did his] best and scored one point [two points after Vettel’s disqualification] so at least it's something, but not what [they] want” He further hopes that after the summer break his “car will be competitive. It's a lot of weird moments that cost [them] hefty points” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff “completely understands the feelings [of Max]. All [he] can do is to take it on [themselves]” [Sky Sport] “It was a small mistake being too late on the brakes and took out Lando [Norris] and the two Red Bulls. It's not how things should go but in the rain its quite tricky” Max’s teammate Sergio Perez explained that he “was already up to third place. [He] out braked the McLaren, felt that [he] was well ahead and unfortunately [Valtteri] Bottas did a big mistake” [Ziggo Sport] “It ruined our race. The engine is damaged, it went all the way to the radiator so a bad shunt”, Sergio suggested Red Bull team principal Christian Horner added that “Valtteri clearly made a bad start and it seems he misjudged his braking point for Turn 1” “This is a karting mistake when you are trying to regain too much ground. Unfortunately for us he took out both our cars. Hugely frustrating”, Horner added “It looks like we'll have to put a new engine in for Sergio”, Horner concluded reiterating Perez’s thoughts Without Fernando Alonso’s defense, would Lewis Hamilton have won the Hungarian GP?