Alonso pleased to stretch podium run in Hungary

The Spaniard had an eventful race on the way from fifth on the grid to third, with two trips off the road and a spin during the grand prix, and said that given the Ferrari performs at its best in much hotter conditions, he had to be content with another podium.

"I think we are confident we can do a good second part of the championship," said Alonso. "The car has improved a lot, we are fighting for podiums, pole positions.

"July was a fantastic month. I am the driver who scored the most points in July, in three different conditions, at three different tracks. The team did a step forward and McLaren also did a good step forward so competition is quite fun.

"Unfortunately it was not very hot in July. We love high temperatures so hopefully August and September will be better for us."

Alonso said he did not have a proper chance to show the Ferrari's pace in Hungary, having lost places to the Mercedes at the start and then had to battle back from his brief excursions.

"I think in these type of conditions the race is very, very long - you need to be always focused with so many pitstops and so many weather conditions," he said.

"The start did not go as predicted, both Mercedes GP cars overtook us at the start, so I had to overtake Nico [Rosberg] and Michael [Schumacher], then with pitstops I was stuck behind [Mark] Webber. After that I was able to push with free air, and was quite quick, but for the first 20 laps we were behind Mercedes and Mark."