Alonso: New cars still hard to judge

Although the Ferrari driver topped the times on Wednesday's session at Valencia, he said it was difficult to see how strong his car was yet.

"At this stage it's difficult to feel the competitiveness of the car, because in the past there were lower fuel loads, so it was easier to compare, with the tyres" Alonso told reporters after finishing his two days of work at Valencia.

"Now also you have no focus [to compared] - normally your team-mate was with you in the [tests]."

He added: "I feel good. I remember starting with a new car, a three-lap run, then a six-lap run, then a 10-lap run. Slowly you build up the runs, you check the temperatures and everything."

The double champion was nonetheless pleased to enjoy another productive session after completing some 200 laps over the two days of work.

"It was a good start for us," said Alonso. "Today we did more than 100 laps, which was the priority - to do a lot of kilometres. The moveable rear wing has been a new device for us so we are making use of the system. It's not so easy to activate and de-activate before the corner, so there is some time of practice before we get used to it.

"And again the same with the KERS. So these extra buttons on the steering wheel require some time. I had some time in the simulator and now this time today, so I can say I am quite happy with everything in the steering wheel. It has been a very productive day for us."