Fernando Alonso says his battle with Sergio Perez in the closing stages of the Brazilian Grand Prix was a “good example” of why DRS is beneficial in Formula 1.

Alonso was embroiled in a thrilling duel with Perez during the final two laps at Interlagos as the pair fought over the final podium spot.

Perez used the DRS to stay in touch with Alonso lap after lap, but could not find a way past the Aston Martin driver.

He ended up making a lunge at Turn 1 on the penultimate lap to slip up Alonso’s inside and looked to have got the job done, only for Alonso to make use of the DRS on the run towards Turn 4 to retake the position on the last lap.

Despite Perez’s attempts to win back third place, the Mexican missed out by just 0.053s at the chequered flag.

Alonso’s defence drew comparisons to his iconic battle with Michael Schumacher at Imola in 2005, which happened six years before F1 introduced DRS to increase overtaking opportunities.

And while it has proved a controversial and unpopular tool, Alonso said without the aid of DRS he would not have been able to stick with Perez to have the chance of regaining the position.

“If in 2005 you lose the position, then it’s bye bye, you cannot recover and here I had another chance,” Alonso said, as quoted by RacingNews365.

“It has been introduced to provide a little bit better show and today is a good example of that because you get overtaken two laps from the end and then you have another chance, especially here in Brazil.

“We saw on Saturday as well, when there is an overtaking done into Turn 1, there is a possibility – a strong possibility – that into Turn 4 someone will get the position back.

“So that’s why we see some very nice battles in races always in Interlagos. It has been a spectacular weekend, as always here in Brazil.

“Sometimes it’s the weather providing this great show and I think this weekend without any rain or any weather we saw incredible races.

“So there is something in this track that always give a perfect opportunity for Formula 1 to shine and it was nice.”

Alonso’s top-three finish, together with team-mate Lance Stroll’s run to fifth, ended a rotten run of form for Aston Martin, who has slipped to fifth behind McLaren in the constructors’ championship.

Alonso had previously stated that the Silverstone-based outfit’s slump meant it had nothing to fight for in the final races, but now the Spaniard “cannot wait” to tackle the remaining two races in the rejuvenated AMR23.

“I was a little bit concerned, no doubt, for the last few races and maybe the final part of the championship,” he said, as quoted by RaceFans. “Now I cannot wait to go to Vegas. So it’s a very different energy when you have a performing car.”