Renault laments difficult qualifying

"It would be easy to say that it was a disappointing race, but in fact it was a disappointing qualifying session, which really determined what happened to us in the race," said Bell after the race.

"So it wasn't a great weekend, but there are positives: the team worked well together; we remain upbeat; and we look forward to Brazil with continued optimism."

Fernando Alonso finished the Suzuka race in tenth position after having started from 16th place following a penalty for not slowing down sufficiently during a yellow-flag period in Q2 on Saturday.

The Spaniard admitted there was little he could do from so far down, but he felt his car was strong during the race.

"My race was really decided after qualifying because although the car was competitive and I pushed hard, it was not enough to score any points," said Alonso.

"We now have to concentrate on the two remaining races and make sure that we qualify well because if we do that I am sure we can score some strong points and have a good end to the season."

Team-mate Romain Grosjean finished down in 16th.