• Italian Grand Prix

'I have nothing to lose' - Alonso

Fernando Alonso: "We have to take some risks and we did and that's okay" © Sutton Images

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Fernando Alonso said he and Ferrari had to take risks at Monza to try to compete with Sebastian Vettel at the Italian Grand Prix, but admitted they were ultimately beaten fair and square.

Alonso finished 5.4s off Vettel at the end of the race, but only after the Red Bull backed off to protect its gearbox towards the end of the race. He was fourth after the first corner but pulled a brave move around the outside of Mark Webber at the second chicane on lap three to put himself back in the chase behind Vettel.

The Ferrari driver said he needs to be aggressive in order to keep his title chances alive.

"It was close, but we have to risk because there is nothing to lose for us," he said. "We are second in the championship and we have to take some risks and we did and that's okay.

Alonso lost time to both Red Bulls by delaying his pit stop and staying out four laps longer on old tyres. But he said the plan had been to take advantage of any problems Vettel might have with degradation and stuck by the decision.

"We tried to stay long in the first stint to try to have fresher hard tyres for the last part of the race in case we were close to Sebastian," he added. "We didn't have that opportunity but it was good also to defend from Mark.

"I'm happy, the weekend was good, yesterday we had top five for both Ferraris and that's good for us. Today we were fighting with the Red Bulls for the podium.

"It was nearly perfect, I say nearly because Sebastian won again and increased the lead in the championship, but he dominated Friday, Saturday and Sunday so we need to congratulate him. This is a sport and someone did better than us today."