Alonso swept up to fourth on the opening lap and inherited third when
Australian Mark Webber retired in the second Red Bull car.
“We know that our championship is alive thanks to the first laps,” said Alonso.
“We always qualified around seventh or eighth and finish the first lap in the
first three or four positions.
“And after that, the race becomes a bit easier if you are in leading group.
Today we knew we had a good chance. I tried to overtake people at the first
corner and then the pace improved and we were in the leading group.
“It was not possible to have the pace of these two guys (Lewis Hamilton and
Vettel). They were too far ahead, but I had enough to keep the guys behind.
“This weekend it is like a victory for us. Losing just three points was
something no one thought yesterday night or Friday night after practice. So
we are happy to have another good Sunday and score good points again.”
Lewis Hamilton ended a poor run of form to top the podium in America, a
victory which made him “massively proud”.
“I nearly lost my voice because I was screaming so much on the in-lap – not
cool at all,” said Hamilton.
“But for me and my team this is so special. It’s been a long, long time since
I had a win and I’m just so proud of the work the guys did.
“There is a huge amount of satisfaction. To be able to beat Red Bull and
Sebastian is definitely a tough challenge, but we managed to do it.”